Examining the Correlates of Adolescent Food and Nutrition Knowledge in London, Ontario

Food literacy is a set of skills and knowledge that are integral to diet. It is common among teenagers to not have basic food literacy skills needed to consume a healthy diet. This exploratory study examined: (1) the current state of food and nutrition knowledge among adolescents in grades 9-12 in the London-Middlesex region of Ontario; and (2) predictors of food knowledge among adolescents. Data for this study were drawn from baseline youth and parent survey data collected for the SmartAPPetite project, a smartphone application-based intervention study which aims to improve food and nutrition knowledge and dietary habits of adolescents. Statistical analysis of the survey data indicates that higher household education and higher median neighbourhood family income, the use of mobile health applications, liking to cook, as well as confidence in reading and understanding food labels were all consistently associated with increased food and nutrition knowledge. Results of this thesis may help guide policymakers, researchers, and public health professionals in developing appropriate food and nutrition programs and curriculums to combat the decline in food literacy skills.

Name thesis:degree_name

M Sc

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Brown, Rachel Ann

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Seabrook, Jamie
• Stranges, Saverio
• Gilliland, Jason

• adolescent health
• food knowledge
• nutrition knowledge
• food literacy
• SmartAPPetite
• mobile health applications

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/30485

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/30485