SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Gaziantep Üniversitesi Spor Bilimleri Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1

Examining the Predictive Effect of Nutritional Literacy on Physical Activity Levels of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Beslenme Okuryazarlığının Fiziksel Aktivite Düzeyleri Üzerine Yordayıcı Etkisinin İncelemesi: Bir Kesitsel Çalışma

Cemal Polat(ESKİŞEHİR TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-5946-5297
Pages
146–155
Publication Date
2026-07-01
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The analysis results show that there is a statistically significant difference between SFS and SFS in terms of HEIGHT (U = 3420.50, p < .001).

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Nutritional literacy and physical activity awareness are two important determinants of both healthy living and well-being.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The sample was obtained using a snowball sampling method, taking into account different faculties, and 211 university students voluntarily participated in the study.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The analysis results show that there is a statistically significant difference between SFS and SFS in terms of HEIGHT (U = 3420.50, p < .001).
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Beslenme okuryazarlığı · Fiziksel Aktivite · Egzersiz

Abstract

Nutritional literacy and physical activity awareness are two important determinants of both healthy living and well-being. This research aimed to examine the nutritional literacy (NL) and physical activity levels (PAL) of university students and the predictive effect of BL on physical activity level. The sample was obtained using a snowball sampling method, taking into account different faculties, and 211 university students voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were divided into two groups: Faculty of Sports Sciences Students [(SFS) (n=115, 22 years, BMI=22.80)] and Other University Students [(OFS), (n=95, 20 years, BMI=23.53)]. The Nutrition Literacy Scale for Young Adults Short Form (YYBOÖ-SF) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) were used as data collection instruments. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to evaluate the distribution characteristics of continuous variables, and it was observed that the variables did not meet the normality assumption. Intergroup differences were evaluated using the Mann Whitney U test. Ordinal Logistic Regression analysis was applied to determine the predictive effect. The analysis results show that there is a statistically significant difference between SFS and SFS in terms of HEIGHT (U = 3420.50, p < .001). The analysis also shows that there is a statistically significant difference between SFS and SFS in terms of FAD (U = .001). -4.59, p < .001). This shows that the total height score did not statistically significantly contribute to predicting physical activity level (B = -0.005, Wald = 0.034, p = .854). The only significant predictor in the model was the group variable (B = 1.492, Wald = 21.730, p < .001). Therefore, it was found that studying at the Faculty of Sports Sciences significantly increases the likelihood of having a higher level of physical activity (PA), but that the DFO did not reach normative values. The results suggest that the university campus environment should be reorganized in a way that enhances awareness of physical activity and nutrition literacy.

Özet

Beslenme ve fiziksel aktivite farkındalığı fonksiyonel yaşam için önemli iki belirleyicidir. Bu araştırma, üniversite öğrencilerinin beslenme okuryazarlığı (BOY) ve fiziksel aktivite düzeyleri (FAD) ve BOY’un fiziksel aktivite düzeyi üzerinde yordayıcı etkisini incelemeyi amaçlamıştır. Örnekleme, farklı fakülteler dikkate alınarak kartopu örnekleme yöntemiyle ulaşıldı ve 211 üniversite öğrencisi araştırmaya gönüllü olarak katıldı. Katılımcılar, Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi Öğrencileri [(SBFÖ) (n=115, 22 yaş, VKİ=22.80)] ve Diğer Üniversite Öğrencileri [(DFÖ), (n=95, 20 yaş, VKİ=23.53 ] olmak üzeri iki gruba ayrıldı. Veriler, Genç Yetişkinlerde Beslenme Okuryazarlığı Ölçeği Kısa Form (GYBOÖ-KF) ve Uluslararası Fiziksel Aktivite Anketi Kısa Formuyla (IPAQ-SF) toplandı. Sürekli değişkenlerin dağılım özelliklerini değerlendirmek için Kolmogorov-Smirnov testi uygulandı ve değişkenlerin normallik varsayımını karşılamadığı gözlemlendi. Gruplar arası farklılıklar Mann Whitney U testi kullanılarak değerlendirildi. Yordayıcı etkisini belirlemek amacıyla Ordinal Lojistik Regresyon analizi uygulandı. Analiz sonuçları, BOY açısından SBFÖ ile DFÖ arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark olduğunu göstermektedir (U = 3420.50, p < .001). FAD açısından SBFÖ ile DFÖ arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark olduğunu göstermektedir (U = -4.59, p < .001). BOY toplam puanının fiziksel aktivite düzeyini yordamada istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir katkı sağlamadığını göstermektedir (B = -0.005, Wald = 0.034, p = .854). Modeldeki tek anlamlı yordayıcının grup değişkeni olduğu görülmektedir (B = 1.492, Wald = 21.730, p < .001). Buna göre spor bilimleri fakültesinde öğrenim görmenin, BOY ve daha yüksek fiziksel aktivite seviyesinde bulunma olasılığını anlamlı derecede artırdığı ancak DFO da norm değerlere ulaşılamadığı görülmüştür. Sonuçlar, üniversite kampüs ikliminin fiziksel aktivite ve beslenme okuryazarlığı farkındalığını artıracak şekide reorganize olması gerektiği görülmektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Polat, C. (2026). Examining the Predictive Effect of Nutritional Literacy on Physical Activity Levels of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Gaziantep Üniversitesi Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 1, 146–155. https://doi.org/10.31680/gaunjss.1944125

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (34)

  1. Anderson, E. & Durstine, J. L. (2019). Physical activity, exercise, and chronic diseases: A brief review. Sports medicine and health science, 1(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smhs.2019.08.006.
  2. Berkman, N. D. Davis, T. C., & McCormack, L. (2010). Health literacy: what is it? Journal of Health Communication, 15(S2), 9-19.
  3. Caspersen, C. J. Powell, K. E. & Christenson, G. M. (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: Definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public Health Reports, 100(2), 126–131.
  4. Chen X, Hay JL, Waters EA, et al. (2018) Health literacy and use and trust in health information. J Health Commun 23, 724–734.
  5. Chen, W.-L., Zhang, C.-G., Cui, Z.-Y., Wang, J.-Y., Zhao, J., Wang, J.-W., Wang, X., & Yu, J.-M. (2019). The impact of social capital on physical activity and nutrition in China: The mediating effect of health literacy. BMC Public Health, 19, 1713. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8037-x
  6. Craig, C. L. et al. (2003). International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine & science in sports & exercise, 35(8), 1381-1395.
  7. Davies, D. S. C. Atherton, F. McBride, M. & Calderwood, C. (2019). UK chief medical officers’ physical activity guidelines. Department of Health and Social care, (September), 1-65.
  8. Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5. bs.). SAGE Publications.
  9. IBM Corp. (2021). IBM SPSS statistics for Windows, version 28.0. IBM Corp.
  10. Gençer Bingöl, F. Çakmak, Ö. N., Bayrak, R., & Doğan, S. (2025). Digital interventions in nutrition education: a web-based model for promoting sustainable nutrition among young adults. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 3946.
  11. Goje M, Salmiah S, Ahmad Azuhairi A, Jusoff K.(2014). Physical Inactivity and Its Associated Factors among University Students. Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences, 13 (10): 119-130.
  12. Hasan, T., Majumder, N., Sultana, M., Shohag, M. M. H., & Tithi, N. S. (2025). Association of stress with nutrition literacy, eating behavior, and physical activity: A cross-sectional study of university students in Bangladesh. PLOS ONE, 20(6), e0326269. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326269.
  13. Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
  14. Hayba, N. Khalil, C. & Allman-Farinelli, M. (2021). Enabling better nutrition and physical activity for adolescents from middle eastern backgrounds: focus groups. Nutrients, 13(9), 3007.
  15. Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
  16. Krause, C., Sommerhalder, K., Beer-Borst, S., & Abel, T. (2018). Just a subtle difference? Findings from a systematic review on definitions of nutrition literacy and food literacy. Health Promotion International, 33(3), 378–389. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daw084
  17. Koç, M. C., Yıldırım, E., Işık, Ö., Aksen, P., Talaghir, L. G., & Zanfir, C. (2024). Turkish version of a short nutrition literacy scale for young adults: Cultural adaptation and validation. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, 1422738.
  18. Legh-Jones H, Moore S. (2017). Network social capital, social participation, and physical inactivity in an urban adult population. Soc Sci Med., 74(9): 1362–7.
  19. Olson, R. D., et al. (2023). Physical activity guidelines for Americans. REVISTA NADAR! SWIMMING MAGAZINE-Periódico científico em esportes e fitness aquático-natação, pólo aquático, nado sincronizado, saltos ornamentais, travessias aquáticas, 3.
  20. Pišot, R. (2022). Physical inactivity–The human health’s greatest enemy. Slovenian Journal of Public Health, 61(1). https://doi.org/10.2478/ sjph-2022-0002.
  21. Sağlam, M., Arıkan, H., Savcı, S., İnal-İnce, D., Bosnak-Güçlü, M., Karabulut, E., & Tokgözoğlu, L. (2010). International physical activity questionnaire: Reliability and validity of the Turkish version. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 111(1), 278–284. https://doi.org/10.2466/06.08.PMS.111.4.278-284
  22. Sigmundová, D., Sigmund, E., Hamrik, Z., Kalman, M., Pavelka, J., Chmelík, F., & Frömel, K. (2015). Sedentary behaviour and physical activity of randomised sample of Czech adults aged 20–64 years: IPAQ and GPAQ studies between 2002 and 2011. Central European Journal of Public Health, 23(Suppl), S81–S96. https://doi.org/10.21101/cejph.a4142.
  23. Sinclair, K. M., Hamlin, M. J., & Steel, G. D. (2005). Physical activity levels of first-year New Zealand university students: a pilot study. Youth Studies Australia, 24(1), 38-42.
  24. Svendsen, K., Torheim, L. E., Fjelberg, V., Sorprud, A., Narverud, I., Retterstøl, K., Bogsrud, M. P., Holven, K. B., Myhrstad, M. C. W., & Telle-Hansen, V. H. (2021). Gender differences in nutrition literacy levels among university students and employees: A descriptive study. Journal of Nutritional Science, 10, e56. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2021.47
  25. Svendsen, M. T., Bak, C. K., Sørensen, K., Pelikan, J., Riddersholm, S. J., Skals, R. K., Mortensen, R. N., Maindal, H. T., Bøggild, H., Nielsen, G., & Torp-Pedersen, C. (2020). Associations of health literacy with socioeconomic position, health risk behavior, and health status: A large national population-based survey among Danish adults. BMC Public Health, 20, 565. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08498-8
  26. Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7. bs.). Pearson.
  27. Tek, N. A., Mortas, H., Arslan, S., Tatar, T., & Köse, S. (2020). The physical activity level is low in young adults: a pilot study from Turkey. Am. J. Public Health Res, 8(1), 7-13.
  28. Ueshima K, et al.(2010). Does social capital promote physical activity? A population-based study in Japan. PLoS One. 2010;5(8):e12135.
  29. van der Heide I, Wang J, Droomers M, et al. (2013) The relationship between health, education, and health literacy: results from the Dutch Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. J Health Commun 18, 172–184.
  30. Velardo, S. (2015). The nuances of health literacy, nutrition literacy, and food literacy. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 47(4), 385–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2015.04.428.
  31. Vrinten, J., Van Royen, K., Pabian, S., De Backer, C., & Matthys, C. (2023). Development and validation of a short nutrition literacy scale for young adults. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, 1008971.
  32. World Health Organization. (2020). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/ite m/9789240015128
  33. World Health Organization. (2024). Global levels of physical inactivity in adults: off track for 2030. World Health Organization.
  34. World Health Organization. Physical Inactivity: A Global Public Health Problem. WHO; 2016.