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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Nutrients

Nutrition Label Literacy, Socio-Demographic Correlates, and Perceived Barriers Among Adult Consumers: A Cross-Sectional Study from Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Saeed Ahmad Noor1
  • Humaira Mahmood1
  • Abdul Momin Rizwan Ahmad2,3
  • Jamshaid Ibrahim4
  • Saira Zafar1
  • Syed Hassan Bin Usman Shah5
  • Juweria Abid2
  • Yasir Waheed6,7,8,9
  • Saleh A. Alsanie10,11
11 affiliations
  1. 1School of Public Health, Health Services Academy, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
  2. 2Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad44000, Pakistan
  3. 3Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
  4. 4Institute of Food Science and Technology, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
  5. 5Department of Public Health, PRIME Consulting, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
  6. 6NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
  7. 7Irfan Suat Gunsel Operational Research Institute, Near East University, 99138 Nicosia, Turkey
  8. 8Advanced Research Centre, European University of Lefke, 99790 Lefke, Northern Cyprus, Turkey
  9. 9Department of Health Sciences, VIZJA University, 01-043 Warsaw, Poland
  10. 10Department of Basic Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 52581, Saudi Arabia
  11. 11Department of Clinical Nutrition, Medical City, Qassim University, Buraydah 52581, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Pakistan has not adopted front-of-package warning labels, and no validated, task-based instrument had previously measured nutrition label literacy among Pakistani adults. This study aimed to measure nutrition label literacy among adult grocery consumers in Islamabad, describe performance on individual tasks, identify socio-demographic correlates, and examine whether self-reported barriers differ by measured literacy. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 400 adult consumers (73.0% response rate) at six retail sites spanning three socioeconomic tiers in Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, using systematic intercept sampling. Label literacy was measured with a culturally adapted, bilingual Urdu/English version of the Newest Vital Sign (NVS-PK). Socio-demographic correlates were examined with multiple linear and binary logistic regression, and self-reported barriers were ranked and compared across literacy categories. Results: Mean NVS-PK score was 1.89 of 6 (SD = 1.71); 81.0% of participants scored in the limited-or-marginal range and only 19.0% reached adequate literacy. Performance was weakest on arithmetic tasks (14.8–29.2% correct) and strongest on a document-based allergen-identification task (66.8% correct). Educational attainment was the strongest independent correlate: compared with Intermediate education or below, postgraduate participants scored significantly higher (B = 1.64, 95% CI 1.17–2.10, p < 0.001) and had markedly higher odds of adequate literacy (AOR = 8.72, 95% CI 3.88–19.60, p < 0.001). Technical terminology (70.2%) and time pressure (64.0%) were the most reported barriers to label use. Conclusions: Most adults sampled in Islamabad could not adequately use a standard nutrition label, and the deficit was primarily arithmetic rather than reading.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{noor2026nutrition,
  title = {{Nutrition Label Literacy, Socio-Demographic Correlates, and Perceived Barriers Among Adult Consumers: A Cross-Sectional Study from Islamabad, Pakistan}},
  author = {Saeed Ahmad Noor and Humaira Mahmood and Abdul Momin Rizwan Ahmad and Jamshaid Ibrahim and Saira Zafar and Syed Hassan Bin Usman Shah and Juweria Abid and Yasir Waheed and Saleh A. Alsanie},
  journal = {Nutrients},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.3390/nu18213689},
  url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3689},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Nutrition Label Literacy, Socio-Demographic Correlates, and Perceived Barriers Among Adult Consumers: A Cross-Sectional Study from Islamabad, Pakistan
AU  - Saeed Ahmad Noor
AU  - Humaira Mahmood
AU  - Abdul Momin Rizwan Ahmad
AU  - Jamshaid Ibrahim
AU  - Saira Zafar
AU  - Syed Hassan Bin Usman Shah
AU  - Juweria Abid
AU  - Yasir Waheed
AU  - Saleh A. Alsanie
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/07
JO  - Nutrients
DO  - 10.3390/nu18213689
UR  - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3689
AB  - Background/Objectives: Pakistan has not adopted front-of-package warning labels, and no validated, task-based instrument had previously measured nutrition label literacy among Pakistani adults. This study aimed to measure nutrition label literacy among adult grocery consumers in Islamabad, describe performance on individual tasks, identify socio-demographic correlates, and examine whether self-reported barriers differ by measured literacy. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 400 adult consumers (73.0% response rate) at six retail sites spanning three socioeconomic tiers in Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, using systematic intercept sampling. Label literacy was measured with a culturally adapted, bilingual Urdu/English version of the Newest Vital Sign (NVS-PK). Socio-demographic correlates were examined with multiple linear and binary logistic regression, and self-reported barriers were ranked and compared across literacy categories. Results: Mean NVS-PK score was 1.89 of 6 (SD = 1.71); 81.0% of participants scored in the limited-or-marginal range and only 19.0% reached adequate literacy. Performance was weakest on arithmetic tasks (14.8–29.2% correct) and strongest on a document-based allergen-identification task (66.8% correct). Educational attainment was the strongest independent correlate: compared with Intermediate education or below, postgraduate participants scored significantly higher (B = 1.64, 95% CI 1.17–2.10, p < 0.001) and had markedly higher odds of adequate literacy (AOR = 8.72, 95% CI 3.88–19.60, p < 0.001). Technical terminology (70.2%) and time pressure (64.0%) were the most reported barriers to label use. Conclusions: Most adults sampled in Islamabad could not adequately use a standard nutrition label, and the deficit was primarily arithmetic rather than reading.
SN  - 2072-6643
ER  -