The relation between intra- and interpersonal factors and food consumption level among Iranian adolescent girls

Nutrition Literacy of Middle School Students and Its Influencing Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chongqing, China

Nutrition literacy plays an important role in children's dietary habits and nutrition. This study aimed to analyse the status of nutrition literacy and its influencing factors amongst middle school students in Chongqing, China. “Nutrition literacy scale for middle school students in Chongqing” was used in 29 districts of Chongqing in September 2020. The scores of nutrition literacy and its' three sub-domains (functional, interactive and critical nutrition literacy) were divided into low and high groups based on their median scores. Binary logistic regression was used to measure the influencing factors of nutrition literacy. A total of 18,660 middle school students were included in this study. The median of nutrition literacy of middle school students was 61.68 (IQR = 14.37). Interactive nutrition literacy had the highest score (median = 70.00, IQR = 20.00), followed by functional nutrition literacy (median = 68.69, IQR = 14.14) and critical nutrition literacy (median = 45.83, IQR = 25.00). Students who were the minority (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.637–0.785), in senior high school (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.477–0.548), in rural areas (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.790–0.911), receiving school meal support from the government (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.591–0.664), with other caregivers' parenting (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.805–0.914), with parents having a low level of education and with an abnormal BMI [thin (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.837–0.990), overweight (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.785–0.968), and obese (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.767–0.902)] presented less probability of being a high level of nutrition literacy. Our results could assist public health authorities in developing strategies of nutrition literacy promotion for references and theoretical foundations.

Relationship of Social Cognitive Theory Concepts to Dietary Habits of Pregnant Women

Background

Nutrition during pregnancy is undoubtedly one of the most important factors affecting maternal health. In this regard, considering the cognitive-behavioral factors associated with feeding, behaviors will play an important role in the effectiveness of interventions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between food habits and structures of social cognitive theory in pregnant women.

Materials and Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 192 pregnant women were randomly selected. Data were collected using a questionnaire based on the social cognitive theory structures and food habits questionnaire in the questioning manner and was also analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression with the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 19.

Results

There was a significant correlation between nutritional behavior with self-regulation (p = 0.001), self-efficacy (p = 0.001), outcome expectations (p = 0.001), social support (p = 0.002), and access (p = 0.001). A significant correlation was observed between lack of consumption of unnecessary and unhelpful food with self-regulation (p = 0.02). In the multivariable regression analysis, only self-regulation revealed significant and direct contribution in relation to nutritional behavior (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Results of this study showed that self-regulation is one of the important factors associated with feeding behavior in pregnant women so that it is suggested to be considered in nutritional interventions in order to improve nutritional behavior.