Determinants of Nutrition Label Use Among College Students

The purpose of this research was to assess the frequency of nutrition label use among college students and its relationship to nutrition and label knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding diet-disease relationships, and to determine factors predictive of frequent or infrequent label use. This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Volunteer participants included a convenience sample of 1,294 students from a large university in Texas. A 57-item survey instrument was used to assess nutrition label knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs about diet-disease relationships. Open- ended items were included to capture reasons for frequent/infrequent label use. Statistical analyses included frequency distributions, Pearson's correlations, independent sample t-tests, and binary logistic regression. Label users had greater knowledge, more favorable attitudes, and more accurate perceptions of diet-disease relationships than nonusers. Females exhibited greater knowledge, more favorable attitudes, and more frequent label use than males. Health reasons, looking for specific information, weight control, and knowledge predicted frequent label use. Desire for certain foods, time constraints, and don't care attitudes predicted infrequent use. These predictors of frequent/infrequent use suggest important points of intervention for increasing label use among selected groups of college students.