Pattern separation abilities are selectively related to food label and numeracy nutrition skills

Dietary practices on human health have received considerable interest, however, the influence of nutritional literacy on adherence to dietary guidelines and nutritional status remains understudied. Further, direct participation of specific cognitive abilities on nutrition literacy is unknown. This knowledge is significant in designing cognitive training interventions to improve nutrition literacy and dietary habits. The research presented herein sought to investigate the relationship between nutrition literacy, diet quality, carotenoid status, memory, and executive function. Adults aged 37.5 ± 17 years completed the 42 item Nutrition Literacy Assessment Instrument (NLit). Dietary History Questionnaire III (DHQIII) was analyzed to determine Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015). Reflection spectroscopy (i.e., VEGGIE METER®) technique was employed to estimate skin carotenoids as a diet quality biomarker. Selective attention was evaluated using a modified Flanker Task. Relational memory and pattern separation abilities were assessed using a Spatial Reconstruction and the Mnemonic Similarity Tasks, respectively. After adjusting for possibly confounding variables based on an a priori hypothesis, no correlations were observed for NLit scores and NLit subscales with HEI-2015 and skin carotenoid status. However, the NLit Food Label & Numeracy subscale was related to greater pattern separation abilities (rho=.33, P = 0.03). These results indicate that overall, nutrition literacy was not related to diet quality, carotenoid status, or cognitive function. However, quantitative comprehension of food label & numeracy information was associated with memory abilities. Future interventions improving nutrition knowledge might benefit from targeting improvement in specific cognitive domains in larger samples.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Kinesiology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Sarma, Rhea

Contributors dc:contributor

• Khan, Naiman A

• Nutrition Literacy
• Nutrition Knowledge
• Dietary Guidelines
• Cognition
• Memory
• Food Label

Statement dc:rights

• © 2023 Rhea Sarma

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120355

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F120355