(P16-031-25) Young Women’s Eating and Food Literacy Behavior Questionnaire Scores Were Associated With the Frequency of Consuming Fruits and Vegetables and Cooking an Evening Meal at Home

Objectives: This study examined if Eating and Food Literacy Behaviors Questionnaire (EFLBQ) scores were related to the frequency of consuming fruits and vegetables and cooking an evening meal at home and if scores differed among Asian, Black, Hispanic and White women.

Methods: The study had a cross-sectional design. Women 18 to 30 years of age who resided in one of the 13 USDA Southern Region states were recruited by a third-party provider to complete the questionnaire that was posted on Qualtrics. Main outcome measures included EFLBQ total and factor (F1 = Health and nutrition, F2 = Taste, F3 = Food preparation, F4 = Planning and decision making, & F5 = Convenience) scores, the frequency of consuming fruit two or more times/day and vegetables three or more times/day and cooking an evening meal at home in the past 7 days. EFLBQ statements and the fruit and vegetable frequency items were scored as 1 = never, 2 = seldom, 3 = often, and 4 = always. Relationships were examined using Spearman’s rho correlations, and predictors of total EFLBQ scores were examined using multiple linear regression stepwise method. Groups were compared using ANOVA and Scheffe's post-hoc test. A p < .05 was considered significant.

Results: Asian (n = 107), Black (n = 113), Hispanic (n = 108) and White (n = 111) women completed the survey. Seldom was the most common response to consuming fruit two or more times/day (36.9%) and vegetables three or more times/day (39.2%), and an average of 4.2 ± 1.8 evening meals were cooked per week. Total EFLBQ and F1, F3, F4, F5 scores were associated with fruit and vegetable consumption (p < .001). Cooking frequency was associated with total EFLBQ, F1 and F4 scores and the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption (p < .001). No differences were seen in total EFLBQ and F1, F2, F3 & F4 scores among the groups, but the F5 scores were higher for Black women (3.31) compared to Asian women (3.11) (p < .021). Fruit and vegetable consumption predicted EFLBQ scores (p < .001) but cooking frequency did not predict EFLBQ scores (p < .08).

Conclusions: In these young women, EFLBQ scores reflected self-reported consumption of fruits and vegetables, and Black women had higher scores for the EFLBQ factor of Convenience than Asian women.

Funding Sources: This study was funded in part by USDA Hatch Project LAB94331 and the Ann Armstrong Peltier Professorship.