Jahrom University of Medical Sciences Pars Journal of Medical Sciences 2717-0284 22 1 2024 09 25 The status of nutrition literacy among elementary school students in western Iran: a cross-sectional study The status of nutrition literacy among elementary school students in western Iran: a cross-sectional study 61 68 714588 10.22034/pjms.2024.2021089.1104 FA Mohammad Ahmadpour Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Public Health, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran 0000-0003-3207-3637 Arezoo Hosseini Tuberculosis Immunotherapy and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Core (HISRC), Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran Sayed Hamid Hosseini Department of Health Education and Prmotion, School of Health, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd,Iran Hashem Heshmati Department of public health, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran Hossein Alikhah Emergency Medicine Specialist, Maragheh University of Medical sciences, Maragheh, Iran Reza Shiri Department of laboratory science and biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran Vida Hashemi Department of laboratory science and biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran 0000-0002-6918-7710 Journal Article 2024 01 23 Introduction: Food and nutrition literacy has become increasingly important in food and nutrition research in recent years and is considered a key factor in population health and complex public health problems. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the status of nutrition literacy of 10-12-year-old Kurdish children in Kurdistan province in western Iran.<br />Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected using a food and nutrition literacy tool. In 2022, based on targeted cluster sampling, primary school students were used. The total number of samples was 390 (male=195 and female=195). The same number of people from grades 4,5, 6 were randomly selected from 52 elementary schools. A total of 10 schools were selected from north, south, east, west and center of Baneh city in Kurdistan province, half of them were boys and half were girls.<br />Results: Among the seven areas of food and nutrition literacy, the highest score was related to the area of knowledge of healthy eating (84.5) and the lowest score was related to the area of nutrition label literacy (26.9). About 10% in the cognitive field and about 33% in the skill field had low food and nutrition literacy.<br />Conclusion: The results of this study show the gap between the knowledge and skill areas of food and nutritional literacy levels at young ages, that is, although the level of literacy and nutrition of children is relatively favorable in the field of knowledge, it is not suitable in the field of skills. Introduction: Food and nutrition literacy has become increasingly important in food and nutrition research in recent years and is considered a key factor in population health and complex public health problems. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the status of nutrition literacy of 10-12-year-old Kurdish children in Kurdistan province in western Iran.<br />Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected using a food and nutrition literacy tool. In 2022, based on targeted cluster sampling, primary school students were used. The total number of samples was 390 (male=195 and female=195). The same number of people from grades 4,5, 6 were randomly selected from 52 elementary schools. A total of 10 schools were selected from north, south, east, west and center of Baneh city in Kurdistan province, half of them were boys and half were girls.<br />Results: Among the seven areas of food and nutrition literacy, the highest score was related to the area of knowledge of healthy eating (84.5) and the lowest score was related to the area of nutrition label literacy (26.9). About 10% in the cognitive field and about 33% in the skill field had low food and nutrition literacy.<br />Conclusion: The results of this study show the gap between the knowledge and skill areas of food and nutritional literacy levels at young ages, that is, although the level of literacy and nutrition of children is relatively favorable in the field of knowledge, it is not suitable in the field of skills. https://jmj.jums.ac.ir/article_714588_c9632a9cf22a05c82f0c84008c9e6f7b.pdf