Date of Conferral

6-5-2025

Date of Award

June 2025

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Patrick Dunn

Abstract

Poor dietary choices and limited understanding of nutritional information are ongoing public health concerns that contribute to the rise of chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. This quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study investigated the associations between health literacy and food label comprehension with consumer dietary choices and adherence to dietary guidelines among individuals aged 16 and older in the United States. Guided by the Nutrition Label Literacy (NLL) framework, this study explored whether components such as basic nutritional knowledge, numeracy skills, health motivation, and label usage predict healthier food choices. Age, education, and gender were included as covariates. Secondary data were obtained from the 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and analysis was conducted using SPSS with a sample size of 4,203 participants. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that health literacy, nutritional knowledge, numeracy, health motivation, and label usage were significantly associated with healthier food choices and greater adherence to dietary guidelines. These findings extend the current literature by demonstrating the importance of food label comprehension in shaping consumer dietary behavior. Public health practitioners and policymakers can use these results to inform educational initiatives aimed at improving health literacy and nutrition awareness, thereby promoting healthier dietary behaviors across diverse populations. Future research should explore longitudinal patterns of label comprehension and its behavioral effects, particularly among populations at greater risk for diet-related diseases.

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