Influence of health literacy on health promoting behaviour of adolescents with and without obesity
Date
2021
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Abstract
Background Learning has been associated with human behaviour, and health literacy is vital in an individual’s health promotion and maintenance activities. Purpose This study aimed at comparing the health literacy and health-promoting behaviour of adolescents with and without obesity, and to also identify the association between health literacy and health-promoting behaviour of these two groups of adolescents. Methods A concurrent mixed-method design was adopted and the study was conducted among150 adolescents with obesity and 150 adolescents without obesity from 15 private secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. A structured self-administered questionnaire and an in-depth interview guide were used to collect data on their health literacy levels and health-promoting behaviour. Results The findings showed that adolescents without obesity had a higher level of health literacy (70%) compared to their counterparts with obesity (59%). More than half (55.3%) of those with obesity and 35% of those without obesity scored low on health-promoting behaviour scale. Also, there was a significant relationship between health literacy and health-promoting behaviour among adolescents with obesity (r = 0.29; p = 0.001) and those without obesity (r = 0.85, p = 0.015). Conclusion The study concluded that adolescents with obesity had lower level of health-promoting behaviour despite their high level of health literacy, compared to those without obesity. Irrespective of the adolescent’s obesity status, their health-promoting behaviour is significantly associated with their health literacy. Implication for school nursing practice is documented.
Description
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences
Keywords
Health-literacy, Health-promoting behaviours, Adolescent, Obesity, School health
Citation
10.1016/j.ijans.2021.100342