Development & validation of the Greek version of the nutrition literacy scale

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Nutrition literacy seems to be positively correlated with a healthy and balanced diet.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of the study was to develop and validate the Greek version of Nutrition Literacy Scale (NLS).

METHODS:

The NLS, initially developed by Diamond in 2007 in the USA, was translated to the Greek language forward and backward twice and subsequently was administered to 50 healthy adult individuals living in Greece. The participants had to complete the tool twice, within a period of 15 days, followed by a specifically designed structured interview, coupled with the New Vital Sign (NVS), for comparison purposes. All anthropometric data were self-reported.

RESULTS:

There was a strong positive correlation between the Greek NLS (NLS-Gr) and the structured interview (r = 0.503, p < 0.001) and the Greek NLS and the NVS (r = 0.451, p = 0.001). Obese participants scored lower than normal weight participants.

CONCLUSIONS:

The NLS-Gr can be considered as a useful tool for assessing NL.