Development of a Food Literacy Assessment Tool for Healthy, Joyful, and Sustainable Diet in South Korea

Abstract

Background: Food literacy (FL) is important as the ability to consider the unique aspects of food in our lives, society, and environment. The main objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to revisit the definition of FL, considering the cultural, relational, and ecological aspects that were often neglected in previous research, and (2) to develop a measurement tool for adults. Methods: Expert workshops, the Delphi survey, the test–retest survey, and one-on-one interviews were conducted. The content validity ratio was calculated from the Delphi survey. The correlation coefficient of each item was measured twice, and the Cronbach’s alpha was calculated. Results: This study proposed a new definition of FL, including future-oriented values, and suggested three main domains with 33 items: (1) 14 questions in nutrition and safety FL (Cronbach’s α = 0.877, average correlation coefficient = 0.70), (2) 8 questions in cultural and relational FL (Cronbach’s α = 0.705, average correlation coefficient = 0.71), and (3) 11 questions in socio-ecological FL (Cronbach’s α = 0.737, average correlation coefficient = 0.61). Conclusions: This newly developed questionnaire should be tested in different populations; however, this questionnaire can be a basis for measuring and improving FL for healthy, joyful, and sustainable diets for adults.

Nutrition and Food Literacy in the MENA Region: A Review to Inform Nutrition Research and Policy Makers

“…Multiple tools with different psychometric properties also exist and were used outside the MENA boundaries; these include the Food Literacy Assessment Tool for Healthy, Joyful, and Sustainable Diet in South Korea [ 51 ], Food and Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for Chinese School-age Children (FNLQ-SC) [ 52 ], a food literacy instrument for school children in a Danish context [ 53 ], Food Literacy Assessment Tool (FLitT) in the United States (U.S.) [ 54 ], Thai-Nutrition Literacy Assessment Tool for Adolescents (Thailand) [ 55 ], preschool-FLAT for Italian children [ 56 ], Tool for Food Literacy Assessment in Children (TFLAC) in U.S. [ 57 ], Critical Nutrition Literacy Scale (CNL-E) (Norway) [ 58 ], Menu Board Literacy, and Self-Efficacy Scale for Children in the U.S. [ 59 ], the dietary behavior scale and the self-efficacy in science scale (Norway) [ 60 ], Food Label Literacy for Applied Nutrition Knowledge (FLLANK) Questionnaire in the U.S. [ 61 ], Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS) in Turkey [ 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ], 19-item food literacy measurement tool in Korea [ 66 ], Nutrition Literacy Scale-Greek (NLS-Gr) [ 67 ], Your PEL—Promote and Empower for Health Literacy (with a food-literacy scale) in Portugal [ 68 ], NLit-P in the U.S. [ 69 ], Spanish Nutrition Literacy Scale [ 70 ], Electronic-Nutrition Literacy Tool (eNutLit) [ 71 ], Short Food Literacy Questionnaire (SFLQ) [ 72 ], and Italian Food Literacy Survey (IT-FLS) [ 73 ].…”

Level of happiness and its association with food literacy among Seoul citizens: results from Seoul Food Survey 2021

“…The cultural and relational domains of the FL index were strongly associated with happiness. These domains were composed of the following items: finding cooking pleasurable, concentrating while eating, savoring different senses while eating, feeling grateful while eating, enjoying sharing food with others, talking about food with others, being interested in foods from different cultures, and thinking that traditional foods are important for diet and culture [ 22 ]. During the development of FL questionnaires, the focus was on the relational and cultural aspects of food rather than the overall life satisfaction or happiness related to food.…”

“…This single-item measure was reported to be valid and stable for community surveys [ 21 ]. FL was measured using a validated questionnaire consisting of thirty-three items from 3 sub-domains: 14 items in the nutrition and safety domain, 8 items in the cultural and relational domain, and 11 items in the socio-ecological domain [ 22 ]. The development of these items involved a comprehensive approach that included literature reviews, a Delphi survey, test-retest surveys, and one-on-one interviews.…”

“…The development of these items involved a comprehensive approach that included literature reviews, a Delphi survey, test-retest surveys, and one-on-one interviews. The FL questionnaire items were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Detailed information on the FL questionnaire items and their classification can be found elsewhere [ 22 ].…”

Who has a high level of food literacy, and who does not?: a qualitative study of college students in South Korea

“…Considering the recent climate crisis and food environment changes, a broader concept of FL is needed to select food sustainably, considering cultural, community, social, and environmental values. In this context, the current authors proposed a broad definition of FL as “ the ability to select, prepare, and cook food to promote an individual healthy lifestyle and food-related competencies that understand the cultural value of food, and consider the value of food to the community, agriculture, and the environment” [ 12 ].…”