Health Literacy and Its Relationship With Body Mass Index

Introduction: Obesity is currently one of the health problems in the world, and the recent report of the World Health Organization has highlighted Health Literacy (HL) as one of the most important determinants of health. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the HL level and its relationship with Body Mass Index (BMI) in students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS). Materials and Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study of the correlational type conducted on 583 students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences who were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The study data were collected using a demographic form and the HL for Iranian Adults (HLIA) questionnaire. Then the collected data were analyzed using statistical tests of Friedman, ANOVA, and the Independent t-test. Results: The Mean±SD BMI of the students was 22.66±3.01 kg/m2. The HL in the areas of access, reading, understanding, appraisal and decision making, and using information were respectively favorable in 63.5%, 58.5%, 74.4%, 62.6%, and 32.9% of all cases. Moreover, 52.5% of students had a moderate level of HL. There was no significant difference between normal, overweight and obese students regarding their HL (P=0.508). Conclusion: Although the HL level of most students was moderate, it was not correlated with their BMI. Regarding the importance of HL and its relevance to health implications, the planning for improving HL is required.