Vegans and flexis have the highest nutrition literacy and diet quality

Urgency to adopt sustainable eating habits is critical for planetary and human health, especially for older teenagers and young adults in the process of transitioning from parental influence to independent meal selection and preparation. The degree of food literacy will play a critical role in shaping this transition.

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between food literacy, diet quality and dietary pattern.(1)

Method

Data from 16-24-year-olds participating in the VeggiSkills-Norway cross-sectional study were analysed based on their dietary patterns.

Dietary patterns were classified into five groups based on the data gathered through participants' responses to electronic food frequency questionnaires (FFQ).

• Vegan

• Lacto-ovo vegetarian,

• Pescatarian

• Flexitarian: <2 servings poultry and/or meat (including processed meat) per week

• Omnivores: >2 servings poultry and/or meat (including processed meat) per week

Food literacy

Food literacy was assessed, encompassing nutrition knowledge, food skills, and behaviours for effective food selection and preparation as well as ability to select foods to meet needs.

Food literacy assessment

Three food literacy competencies were assessed and classed as poor, moderate or high.

1. General nutrition knowledge: an accredited 67-item UK questionnaire was adapted for Norwegian 16-24 year olds. Participants' literacy was rated as follows:

   • <60% correct answers = poor

   • 60-79% correct answers = moderate

   • 80 – 100% correct answers = high

2. Critical nutrition literacy: participants were assessed for their ability to evaluate nutrition and health claims and their sources, Scores ranged from 1 (poor) to 5 (highest critical nutrition literacy)

3. Food skills: participants were asked three questions relating to the frequency of a) undertaking their own food shopping, b) cooking from scratch at home and c) consuming ready meals, take-aways or ate out of home.

   • A higher reported frequency resulted in a higher percentage allocation. For questions a) and b), a higher percentage allocation reflected higher food skills, conversely for c) a higher percentage allocation reflected lower food skills.

Diet quality assessment

Participants' dietary choices were scored based on alignment with Norwegian dietary guidelines for eight food groups: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, sugar foods, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and salty foods. The combined scores ranged from 0 to a maximum of 80, with higher scores indicating better diet quality.

Results

The study included data from 165 participants aged 16-24 years with a normal body weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m²). The majority were omnivores (43%), followed by pescatarians (18.2%), flexitarians (15.2%), lacto-ovo vegetarians (12.1%), and vegans (11.5%).

General nutrition knowledge

The majority (55%) of the participants had a moderate level of general nutrition knowledge (60-79% correct answers) and almost a third (30.9%) had a high level of knowledge (>79% correct answers).

Notably, flexitarians scored higher (51.5 out of 67) in general nutrition knowledge compared to omnivores (45.6 out of 67), (p=0.034).

Critical nutrition literacy

The majority of participants achieved a score of 3.7 out of 5 in critical nutrition literacy. Notably, vegans exhibited a significantly higher level of critical nutrition literacy (4.1) compared to all other dietary practices (3.6), p-value <0.011.

Food skills

The degree of food skills was not associated with any specific dietary pattern and the majority of participants had moderate food skills (mean score of 66%).

Diet quality

The overall diet quality score for all dietary groups was 46 out of 80, indicating sub-optimal quality. Significant differences were observed among the different dietary patterns. Vegans had higher median score, 56 out of 80, which was significantly higher than omnivores with a score of 42 (p<0.001) and pescatarians with a score of 47.5 (p=0.31). Omnivores had the lowest dietary quality score compared to all other dietary patterns (statistically significant).

Vegans and flexitarians consumed significantly more vegetables compared to omnivores (p=0.018). In contrast, omnivores had the highest intake of SSB while vegans and flexitarians had the lowest intakes (p=0.018).

Additionally, vegans had the highest intake of beans and lentils and nuts and seeds compared to all other dietary practices.

The consumption of fruits and berries, wholegrains and sugary and salty foods remained unaffected by dietary type.

Conclusion

In summary, this study revealed moderate overall food literacy levels and suboptimal diet quality across all dietary patterns with some notable distinctions. Flexitarians displayed the highest general nutrition knowledge, while omnivores had the lowest. Vegans exhibited superior critical nutrition literacy compared to all other dietary groups. Moreover, vegans achieved the highest diet quality score and, along with flexitarians, demonstrated the most favourable intakes of vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and the lowest consumption of SSB. Conversely, omnivores reported the lowest intakes of vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and the highest SSB consumption.

The findings emphasise the collective need for dietary improvement across all dietary patterns, particularly in terms of enhancing the intake of wholegrains and fruits and reducing the consumption of salty and sugary foods.

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