Food- and nutrition literacy in Norway

Investigating food- and nutrition literacy in the Norwegian population is important for planning and implementing future nutrition initiatives in Norway.

Background: Food literacy can be described as proficiency in food related skills and knowledge, ultimately affecting our ability to assess, plan, prepare and consume healthy foods. Research shows that food literacy is associated with several factors such as age, gender and socioeconomic status, and more recently, has been suggested as potentially relevant to the efficacy of nutrition initiatives. Although food literacy embodies a broad array of factors which impact food consumption, instruments designed to investigate food literacy, have tended to overlook how individuals relate critically to nutrition information and their general nutrition knowledge.

There is little research investigating the level of food literacy, nutrition literacy and general nutrition knowledge across different population sub-groups in Norway. Internationally, questionnaires designed to measure food literacy, have been lengthy and subject to low response rates. Here, we aim to test a number of concise, validated questionnaires measuring food- and nutrition literacy and general nutrition knowledge in combination, and compare the results across different sub-groups.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, we target Norwegian adults. The study questionnaire was adapted from three existing questionnaires designed to measure food literacy, nutrition literacy and general nutrition knowledge. The questionnaires measuring food- and nutrition literacy were based on previously validated questionnaires by Griebler et al. (2024) in Austrian adults. To our knowledge, this is the first time these questionnaires have been adapted for use in Norway. The general nutrition knowledge questions are based on a shortened and adapted Norwegian instrument by Groufh-Jacobsen et al. (2023) based on the validated general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for adults in the UK (GNKQ-R). Statistics will include factor analysis and internal consistency assessment with the original validated instruments as reference measures. Food literacy, nutrition literacy and general nutrition knowledge will also be compared between population sub-groups and the relationship between the three sub-questionnaires will be investigated.

Conclusions: There is limited research investigating the level of food- and nutrition literacy in the Norwegian population, particularly within certain sub-groups. The current study could generate valuable knowledge which may be utilized when planning and implementing future nutrition initiatives in Norway.