Nutrition literacy and health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among university students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Nutrition literacy is considered an important determinant of healthy eating and health-promoting behaviors. This study aimed to examine the association between nutrition literacy and health-promoting lifestyle behaviors in university students.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among university students aged 18-25 years at Gaziantep University, Türkiye. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, the Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults (EINLA), and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II).

RESULTS

The final analysis included 400 university students. The mean age of the participants was 19.9 ± 1.7 years, and 88.0% were female. The mean total EINLA score was 27.90 ± 3.40, and the mean total HPLP-II score was 128.44 ± 19.01. Comparisons across nutrition literacy tertiles showed no statistically significant differences in total HPLP-II scores (p = 0.308). In multivariable linear regression analyses, total EINLA score was not significantly associated with either total HPLP-II score (β = -0.003, p = 0.949) or the HPLP-II nutrition subscale score (β = -0.083, p = 0.086). In the generalized additive model, however, the smooth term for EINLA showed a nonlinear association with the HPLP-II Nutrition subscale (p = 0.006). Regular physical activity and consuming ≥3 main meals per day were positively associated with both total HPLP-II score and the nutrition subscale score (p < 0.05 for all). In addition, students in the Natural Sciences had significantly lower total HPLP-II and nutrition subscale scores than those in the Health Sciences.

CONCLUSION

In this sample of university students, nutrition literacy was not independently associated with overall health-promoting lifestyle behaviors after adjustment for covariates. Regular physical activity, main meal frequency, and academic department were associated with HPLP-II scores. These findings suggest that lifestyle behaviors in young adults should be interpreted in relation to both literacy-related and behavioral factors. Future studies may build on these findings by incorporating validated measures of digital food literacy and sustainable eating behaviors.