Socio-Ecological Correlates of Food Literacy Across Regional Contexts in China

Food literacy (FL) comprises the knowledge, skills, and motivation needed for food production, selection, preparation, intake, and waste management. This study examined whether socio-ecological correlates of FL differ across settlement contexts in China.

Cross-sectional survey data from Chinese adults (N = 1145) were analyzed across four settlement tiers: tier-1 metropolitan cities (R1), provincial/secondary cities (R2), smaller prefecture-level cities (R3), and county/rural areas (R4). General linear models estimated associations between socio-ecological predictors and overall FL after adjustment for sociodemographics, health behaviors, chronic disease, and BMI. Significant interactions were probed using HC3-robust simple slopes and pairwise slope contrasts. Robustness checks included domain-specific measurement invariance, variance inflation factor (VIF) diagnostics, and a regional sensitivity analysis.

The fully adjusted model explained substantial variance in FL (R² = 0.629). Awareness showed the strongest association with FL, followed by family support, injunctive norms, and social norms. Moderation was modest and predictor-specific: dining preferences and family support were positively associated with FL across all regions, with the strongest effects in county/rural areas. Although the omnibus interaction for injunctive norms was statistically significant, follow-up slope contrasts were not, indicating limited substantive regional heterogeneity. Component analyses indicated that preference-related heterogeneity was concentrated in food intake and food choices/selection, whereas family-support heterogeneity was most pronounced for waste disposal. Domain-level invariance analyses supported broad cross-regional comparability of the FL structure, VIFs were all below 5, and the regional distribution of valid and invalid responses did not differ significantly.

Socio-ecological correlates of FL were broadly robust across China, with limited context-specific variation driven mainly by stronger household-support effects in county/rural settings. These findings support region-sensitive FL strategies that strengthen household-based support while leveraging normative influences across regions.