Assessment of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Lebanese shoppers towards food labeling: The first steps in the Nutri-score roadmap [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Food labeling is a fundamental educational tool for advocating for public awareness. It emphasizes knowledge of the nutrient content of food and thus directs the choice towards the healthiest food products. This cross-sectional survey aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:F1000 research 2022-01, Vol.11, p.84
Main Authors: Hoteit, Maha, Yazbeck, Nour, Al-Jawaldeh, Ayoub, Obeid, Cecile, Fattah, Heba Abdul, Ghader, Marwa, Mohsen, Hala
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Calories
Consumers
COVID-19
Data collection
Descriptive labeling
Diet
Food
Health care
Knowledge
Nutrient content
Nutrition
Population
Public health
Questionnaires
Software
Vitamins
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Summary:Background: Food labeling is a fundamental educational tool for advocating for public awareness. It emphasizes knowledge of the nutrient content of food and thus directs the choice towards the healthiest food products. This cross-sectional survey aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding nutrition label use in Lebanon through a valid questionnaire. Methods: Overall, 768 participants (mean age: 30.8 ±12, males: 60.2%) were recruited randomly between February and May 2020. We used word of mouth and social media to recruit our sample population. Results: Social media was the most accessed tool to attain nutrition information by responders (39.8%). More than half the participants expressed positive attitudes to check information related to sugars (66.4%), vitamins (64.9%), total fats (61.7%), proteins (59.1%), and calories (58.7%) on the food label. Expiry date, price, and brand name were the top three considerations while reading food labels. About half (46.5%) reported to "always" look at the food label. Responders reported reading labels related primarily to sugars (44.3%), calories (38.8%), and total fats (36.8%). The optimal total KAP score was 46; our findings revealed a mean KAP score of 14.46 ±7 (31.4%). When categorizing the KAP scores, 15% had high scores, and 85% scored low. Spearman's coefficients showed positive correlations between knowledge-attitude, knowledge-practice, and attitude-practice scores, with p
ISSN:2046-1402
2046-1402
DOI:10.12688/f1000research.75703.2