FOODLIT-PRO: Food Literacy Domains, Influential Factors and Determinants—A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Poor eating habits are increasing the prevalence of weight-related issues, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Given the demand to improve individuals’ food knowledge and competencies aiming at healthier behaviours, the current investigation explores the concept of food literacy. Considering the lack of a shared understanding of food literacy, this study aims to explore food literacy’s domains, influential factors and determinants. Using a qualitative deductive-dominant content analysis, 30 experts from food-related fields were interviewed. The obtained outcomes were compared to available food literacy frameworks. Agreement among inter-raters was nearly perfect (k = 0.82). Yielding a total of 184 codes nested within 19 categories, identified domains were Origin, Safety, Choice and Decision, Select and Acquire, Plan, Preserve, Prepare, Cook, and Knowledge; influential factors included Nutrition, Psychological, Health, Learning Contexts, Policy, Industry, Sustainability, and Social and Cultural; External determinants were “Access to Food-Related Information”, “Perishable and/or Unreliable Food-Related Information”, “Family Dynamic and/or Identity”, and “Professionals’ Unpreparedness on Food-Related Expertise”, and Internal determinants included “Prioritise Food”, “Convenience and Practicality”, “Time and Financial Management”, “Previous Food-Related Habits”, and “Innate and Learned Flavour Preferences”. In conclusion, more than half of the identified attributes (62.5%) are corroborated by the current literature. However, the manifested content unmatched with the current frameworks of food literacy literature express food-literacy-related fields of action, knowledge, competencies, and determinants that have not yet been explored. As such, this study provides new and useful information concerning food literacy definition and development, by identifying its domains, factors of influence, and potential determinants. Moreover, this work paves the way for new measurements and interventions within this field.

School-based interventions for promoting food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) in elementary school children: a systematic review protocol

“…Any type of studies available in English featuring interventions that contain one or more components of food literacy/nutrition literacy [36], including understanding of food and nutrition information, knowledge of food and nutrition, the skill of finding information from various sources, meal and snack preparation, increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables, reducing the consumption of prepared foods, healthy food choice, and the skill of reading and analyzing food labels in school setting, will be included in the review without considering the time limit. The studies that focus on nutritional interventions related to diseases such as type II diabetes and obesity will be excluded.…”

“…If sufficient studies are identified and data points are available, potential sources of heterogeneity will be investigated further by subgroup or meta-regression analysis according to baseline characteristics and methodological covariates. We plan to conduct analyses by sex (girls vs boys) [47], age (e.g., children vs adolescent, midpoint of age range as continuous variable) [36,47], type of study (RCT, casecontrol, pre-post, etc. ), food literacy/nutrition literacy level (e.g., low, moderate or high), sample size (e.g., < 1000, 1000-5000, or > 5000 participants), and study quality (e.g., low/moderate vs high-risk of bias).…”

Food Next Door: From Food Literacy to Citizenship on a College Campus

“…Food literacy is desperately needed in university students, including those students preparing for health professions [ 50 ]. From our food literacy survey, more than 75% of the participants in our pilot study, who were mainly nursing and health sciences students, scored below 75%.…”

“…We were also able to show an almost 20% increase in sales with meals-to-go, all of which persuaded DHS to start FND. Unfortunately, socio-economic status is often predictive of healthy eating, also in college students [ 50 ], and food insecurity on college campuses is high [ 53 ]. It has to be stated that FND-like dining operations do not have to generate revenue, as their value proposition is expansive and goes beyond simply getting a healthy meal on campus.…”

“…However, health and nutrition professionals will not simply be able to opt into specialized practice in sustainable food systems [ 9 ]. These professionals, along with other health professionals [ 50 ], will have to be prepared to act from within to support safer, more accessible, and fresher more transformative food systems, especially if addressing rural health disparities, food insecurity, and changes in eating behaviors. FND’s work connected nutrition students to farms and food through their work from within the regional food system of rural Colorado.…”