Nutrition Literacy in Relation to Nutritional Status Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Istanbul, Türkiye: A Hierarchical Regression Analysis
- 1Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Fenerbahçe University, 34758 Istanbul, Türkiye
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Although nutritional status is central to healthy aging, little is known about how it relates to nutrition literacy in community-dwelling older adults. We examined this association and whether it persisted after sequential adjustment for sociodemographic, health-related, and anthropometric characteristics. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 306 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years in Istanbul, Türkiye. Nutritional status and nutrition literacy were assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form (MNA-SF) and the Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults, respectively. Sociodemographic, perceived health- and nutrition-related, and anthropometric data were collected. Group comparisons, Pearson correlations, and a three-block hierarchical multiple regression analysis were performed. Results: Overall, 4.2% of participants were malnourished and 38.9% were at risk of malnutrition; 8.5% had inadequate and 66.7% had adequate nutrition literacy. Nutrition literacy was weakly and positively correlated with waist-to-hip ratio, mid-upper arm circumference, and calf circumference. Nutrition literacy was positively associated with MNA-SF scores across all hierarchical models, and the final model explained 28.8% of the variance. Sex, employment status, perceived diet quality, calf circumference, and waist circumference were also associated with MNA-SF scores in the final model. However, after additional adjustment for age group and marital status, the association between nutrition literacy and MNA-SF scores was no longer statistically significant. Conclusions: Nutrition literacy was modestly and positively associated with nutritional status after sequential adjustment, but not after additional adjustment for age group and marital status. Given the cross-sectional design, the direction of this association cannot be established, and no inferences regarding interventions can be drawn. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify its temporal nature and underlying mechanisms.
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BibTeX
@article{altınok2026nutrition,
title = {{Nutrition Literacy in Relation to Nutritional Status Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Istanbul, Türkiye: A Hierarchical Regression Analysis}},
author = {Öykü Altınok and Sezen Sevdin and Nadide Gizem Tarakçı Filiz and Bahar Yalçın Çeliktaş and Muazzez Garipağaoğlu},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203428},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3428},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nutrition Literacy in Relation to Nutritional Status Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Istanbul, Türkiye: A Hierarchical Regression Analysis
AU - Öykü Altınok
AU - Sezen Sevdin
AU - Nadide Gizem Tarakçı Filiz
AU - Bahar Yalçın Çeliktaş
AU - Muazzez Garipağaoğlu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203428
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3428
AB - Background/Objectives: Although nutritional status is central to healthy aging, little is known about how it relates to nutrition literacy in community-dwelling older adults. We examined this association and whether it persisted after sequential adjustment for sociodemographic, health-related, and anthropometric characteristics. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 306 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years in Istanbul, Türkiye. Nutritional status and nutrition literacy were assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form (MNA-SF) and the Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults, respectively. Sociodemographic, perceived health- and nutrition-related, and anthropometric data were collected. Group comparisons, Pearson correlations, and a three-block hierarchical multiple regression analysis were performed. Results: Overall, 4.2% of participants were malnourished and 38.9% were at risk of malnutrition; 8.5% had inadequate and 66.7% had adequate nutrition literacy. Nutrition literacy was weakly and positively correlated with waist-to-hip ratio, mid-upper arm circumference, and calf circumference. Nutrition literacy was positively associated with MNA-SF scores across all hierarchical models, and the final model explained 28.8% of the variance. Sex, employment status, perceived diet quality, calf circumference, and waist circumference were also associated with MNA-SF scores in the final model. However, after additional adjustment for age group and marital status, the association between nutrition literacy and MNA-SF scores was no longer statistically significant. Conclusions: Nutrition literacy was modestly and positively associated with nutritional status after sequential adjustment, but not after additional adjustment for age group and marital status. Given the cross-sectional design, the direction of this association cannot be established, and no inferences regarding interventions can be drawn. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify its temporal nature and underlying mechanisms.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -