Students' Nutrition Literacy and the Existence of Health Care Providers in Iranian Schools.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between Students' nutrition literacy and the existence of health care providers in Iranian schools. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study was conducted on 504 students in Ardebil City, northwestern Iran from Oct 2017 to Jan 2018. The FLINT questionnaire was used to assessment the food and nutrition literacy. Socio-demographic characteristics and the existence of health care providers were collected using demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: Nearly 75% of students had not a health care provider. Most students had a low FNLIT (62% males and 58.1% females). The probability of low FNLIT was lower in students with health care providers than those without them (OR=0.46, CI 95%; 0.10, 0.91). CONCLUSION: One of the reasons for the low nutritional literacy of students may be due to the lack of health care providers in schools. Health educational administrators employ specialized health care providers in Iranian schools.