Nutritional Literacy among secondary school Students in Kalasin Province, Thailand

10.30207/AHLA.202312.0003

Chutima Noywanghin；Bangon Klamsuwan；Parichat Phamontee；Kornvipha Phakphoom；Lertanun Phudounhdat

Health Literacy ； Nutrition ； School

The Proceeding of the 9th AHLA International Health Literacy Conference: Health Literacy and Social Resilience

2023（2023 / 12 / 01）

3 - 3

英文

Background: Eating enough high-quality nutrition food will help school-age children grow properly, but obesity is on the rise. In 2017-2022, the overweight school age increased from 11.1% to 13.7%, and stunting increased from 5.1% to 10.7%. In 2022, the regional health center 7 Khon Kaen discovered that 10.1% of school-age children were overweight and 8.2% were stunted. Students' growing nutrition and sufficiency behaviors will be endangered by health literacy factors. Health literacy factors will compromise the nutritional status and appropriate nutritional behaviors of students. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the level of nutrition literacy among high school students in Kalasin Province, Thailand. Methods: Data collected in June 2022 using the questionnaire, which was approved by three experts (IOC scores), revealed that the consistency index of all questions had obtained values between 0.67 and 1.0, and the reliability was 0.80. Results: Students' health literacy was at the moderate level with an average score of 20.72 (SD= 3.49). The understanding of nutrition was at a moderate level, with an average score of 7.6 (SD = 1.63). The access to nutritional information was low, with an average score of 2.1 (SD = 0.80), and the most accessible sources of information were parents, websites, and YouTube (32.5%, 28.5%, and 22.4%), respectively. The following advice came from parents: 71.9%, teachers: 11.5%, and friends: 5.8%. Searches for healthy food consumption or other healthy food information were sometimes 59.7% and frequently 14.9%. The right decision-making skill in consumption choice was at a moderate level, with an average score of 11.1 (SD = 2.57).