Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index

Introduction: Obesity is currently one of the health problems in the world, and the recent report of the World Health Organization has highlighted Health Literacy (HL) as one of the most important determinants of health. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the HL level and its relationship wi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roya Moghaddam, Nasrin Mokhtari Lakeh, Seyedeh Marzieh Rahebi, Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Guilan University of Medical Sciences 2019-06-01
Series:Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-454-46&slc_lang=en&sid=1
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850038575062581248
author Roya Moghaddam
Nasrin Mokhtari Lakeh
Seyedeh Marzieh Rahebi
Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
author_facet Roya Moghaddam
Nasrin Mokhtari Lakeh
Seyedeh Marzieh Rahebi
Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
author_sort Roya Moghaddam
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Obesity is currently one of the health problems in the world, and the recent report of the World Health Organization has highlighted Health Literacy (HL) as one of the most important determinants of health. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the HL level and its relationship with Body Mass Index (BMI) in students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS). Materials and Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study of the correlational type conducted on 583 students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The study data were collected using a demographic form and the HL for Iranian Adults (HLIA) questionnaire. Then the collected data were analyzed using statistical tests of Friedman, ANOVA, and the Independent t-test. Results: The Mean±SD BMI of the students was 22.66±3.01 kg/m2. The HL in the areas of access, reading, understanding, appraisal and decision making, and using information were respectively favorable in 63.5%, 58.5%, 74.4%, 62.6%, and 32.9% of all cases. Moreover, 52.5% of students had a moderate level of HL. There was no significant difference between normal, overweight and obese students regarding their HL (P=0.508). Conclusion: Although the HL level of most students was moderate, it was not correlated with their BMI. Regarding the importance of HL and its relevance to health implications, the planning for improving HL is required.
format Article
id doaj-art-eaafc4e174814391a144bc905d801f14
institution DOAJ
issn 2588-3712
2588-3720
language English
publishDate 2019-06-01
publisher Guilan University of Medical Sciences
record_format Article
series Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery
spelling doaj-art-eaafc4e174814391a144bc905d801f142025-08-20T02:56:33ZengGuilan University of Medical SciencesJournal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery2588-37122588-37202019-06-01293814Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass IndexRoya Moghaddam0Nasrin Mokhtari Lakeh1Seyedeh Marzieh Rahebi2Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili3 Nursing (MSN), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran PhD. Candidate in Educational Administration, Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Instructor, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Associate Professor, Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Biostatistics, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Introduction: Obesity is currently one of the health problems in the world, and the recent report of the World Health Organization has highlighted Health Literacy (HL) as one of the most important determinants of health. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the HL level and its relationship with Body Mass Index (BMI) in students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS). Materials and Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study of the correlational type conducted on 583 students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The study data were collected using a demographic form and the HL for Iranian Adults (HLIA) questionnaire. Then the collected data were analyzed using statistical tests of Friedman, ANOVA, and the Independent t-test. Results: The Mean±SD BMI of the students was 22.66±3.01 kg/m2. The HL in the areas of access, reading, understanding, appraisal and decision making, and using information were respectively favorable in 63.5%, 58.5%, 74.4%, 62.6%, and 32.9% of all cases. Moreover, 52.5% of students had a moderate level of HL. There was no significant difference between normal, overweight and obese students regarding their HL (P=0.508). Conclusion: Although the HL level of most students was moderate, it was not correlated with their BMI. Regarding the importance of HL and its relevance to health implications, the planning for improving HL is required.http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-454-46&slc_lang=en&sid=1Health literacyBody Mass IndexStudents
spellingShingle Roya Moghaddam
Nasrin Mokhtari Lakeh
Seyedeh Marzieh Rahebi
Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index
Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery
Health literacy
Body Mass Index
Students
title Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index
title_full Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index
title_fullStr Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index
title_full_unstemmed Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index
title_short Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index
title_sort health literacy and its relationship with body mass index
topic Health literacy
Body Mass Index
Students
url http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-454-46&slc_lang=en&sid=1
work_keys_str_mv AT royamoghaddam healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithbodymassindex
AT nasrinmokhtarilakeh healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithbodymassindex
AT seyedehmarziehrahebi healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithbodymassindex
AT ehsankazemnezhadleili healthliteracyanditsrelationshipwithbodymassindex