ADOLESCENTS' NUTRITION LITERACY AND HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOR: THE EFFECT OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION MEDIA

Abstract

Abstract More and more young people are using the Internet for education and entertainment, and the Internet influences them. This study looks at how 13- to 19-year-olds in Bangladesh describe how they use social media to get information about nutrition. It also looks at how the information they get supports their healthrelated behavior. We used research methods, a survey, and online and face-to-face interviews. We analyzed 345 valid and complete responses using Smart PLSbased Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). We found that the teenagers had a satisfactory level of nutrition literacy, and that social media can promote healthand-nutrition-related content. We also found that the nutrition literacy of teenagers was unrelated to their behavior. Instead, their choices of content, their sense of altruism, and different forms social support influence the way they use media. These factors also reflected and reinforced their attitudes to health. This study concludes with recommendations for influencing the nutrition- and health- related behavior of teenagers. Keywords: adolescent, nutrition literacy, health behavior, computer-mediated communication, social media.