Nutrition Literacy among Adolescents and Its Association with Eating Habits and BMI in Tripoli, Lebanon

Abstract

(1) Background: Adolescence is a period of increased autonomy and independent decision making; it determines health behaviors that can persist into the future. Individual factors like food choices and unhealthy lifestyle have an essential role in the development and prevention of obesity among adolescents and are associated with the nutrition literacy of parents and other adults. While the association of parents’ nutrition literacy with adolescent BMI has been addressed, there is still a scarcity of studies that examine the effect of adolescents’ nutrition literacy on their eating habits and body mass index (BMI) status. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted that included 189 adolescents (68 with overweight and obesity and 121 with normal weight) aged between 14–19 years from four private schools in Tripoli, Lebanon. A self-administered questionnaire that included the Nutrition Literacy Assessment Instrument (NLAI) and the Adolescent Food Habits Checklist (AFHC) was used. Anthropometrics were measured using standardized procedures. The association between nutrition literacy, food habits and BMI was assessed using a chi squared test for independence and Poisson regression analysis where suitable. (3) Results: Results indicated no association between all five components of nutrition literacy and body mass index categories. Furthermore, there was no association between the Adolescent Food Habits Checklist and overweight or obese BMI status (RR = 0.947, 95%CI: 0.629–1.426) (p = 0.796). No association was observed between nutrition literacy and food habits, except for an inverse association with macronutrients literacy. (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, the study indicated that there was no association between the components of nutrition literacy with body mass index or with food habits, except for macronutrient literacy.