Food knowledge level among Tanzanian women of childbearing age: developing a score for the food knowledge questionnaire

Abstract

Food knowledge (FK) is one of the factors that contribute to malnutrition conditions in developing countries, together with food safety, food security and food access. FK is defined as ‘the competence to understand healthy nutrition concepts’; it impacts individuals’ life due to its relationship with food behaviour and eating habits. Therefore, acting on FK can represent a starting point for improving the health status of vulnerable populations. The authors present a total score of an FK questionnaire (FKQ) and its relation to the socio-demographic characteristics of a specific target population: Tanzanian women of childbearing age. The results of the manuscript complement evidence of construct validity of the FKQ by providing an algorithm to compute a total score as a measure of FK. The strength of this tool, and its score, lies in the fact that the questionnaire has been validated and is easy to administer.