Awareness, interpretation ability of nutrition label, and consumption practices about processed food packets among...

Lack of formal education in adolescents about the interpretation of nutrition labels led to the formation this study which aimed to assess the awareness and interpretation ability of nutrition label, and consumption practices about processed food packets among school-going adolescents.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in four schools of Vadodara, Gujarat, among 361 students of classes 11 and 12 over three months. A validated, pilot-tested 20 points questionnaire was used to assess awareness (12 questions), and interpretation ability (8 questions) related to nutrition labels, and consumption practices (10 questions) of processed food packets. Data were collected via online Google Forms during the COVID-19 period and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Ethical approval was obtained, and confidentiality was maintained throughout the study.

The study involved 361 adolescents. They scored an average of 11.2 (56%) out of 20. This indicates that 44% of school-going adolescents had poor knowledge and couldn't interpret nutrition label correctly. They faced challenges answering questions regarding best-before date, food additives, nutritional ingredients, Indian Standards Institution (ISI) mark and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) symbols. Their weekly intake of packaged food was high: 43% ate noodles for 1-7 days, 78% ate biscuits every other day, and 60% ate potato chips for at least one day.

The majority of adolescents have unhealthy habits of consuming packaged food, and 44% of them had poor knowledge and difficulty interpreting nutrition labels. Such outcome suggests an urgent need for interventions in the school curriculum to enhance their health and nutrition knowledge.