Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy

Obeid, Sahar; Hallit, Souheil; Fekih-Romdhane, Feten; Sacre, Yonna; Hokayem, Marie; Saeidi, Ayoub; Sabbah, Lamya; Tzenios, Nikolaos; Hoteit, Maha

doi:10.3390/nu17152457

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Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy

by

Sahar Obeid

¹,

Souheil Hallit

^2,3,4

,

Feten Fekih-Romdhane

^5,6

,

Yonna Sacre

⁷,

Marie Hokayem

⁷,

Ayoub Saeidi

⁸

,

Lamya Sabbah

^9,10

,

Nikolaos Tzenios

^11,*,†

and

Maha Hoteit

^{12,13,14,*,†}

¹

Social and Education Sciences Department, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Byblos P.O. Box 36, Lebanon

²

School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh P.O. Box 446, Lebanon

³

Department of Psychology, College of Humanities, Effat University, Jeddah 21478, Saudi Arabia

⁴

Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11937, Jordan

⁵

The Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry “Ibn Omrane”, Razi Hospital, Manouba 2010, Tunisia

⁶

Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis 1007, Tunisia

⁷

Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh P.O. Box 446, Lebanon

⁸

Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj 66177-15175, Iran

⁹

Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Modern University for Business and Science (MUBS), Damour P.O. Box 113-7501, Lebanon

¹⁰

Center of Excellence in Research, Education, and Cultural Studies (CEREC), Beirut, Lebanon

¹¹

Faculty of Public Health, Charisma University, London EC1V 7QE, UK

¹²

PHENOL Research Program, Faculty of Public Health, Section 1, Lebanese University, Beirut P.O. Box 6573, Lebanon

¹³

Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus

¹⁴

INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique, d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon

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^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Nutrients 2025, 17(15), 2457; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152457

Submission received: 28 June 2025 / Revised: 17 July 2025 / Accepted: 25 July 2025 / Published: 28 July 2025

(This article belongs to the Topic Transforming Childhood Nutrition: New Perspectives on Food Literacy and Healthy Diets: 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

Introduction: Nutrition literacy has garnered growing research attention worldwide, yet only a few instruments have been developed to specifically measure this construct among adolescents. Accordingly, the present research sought to examine the validity and reliability of the Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS) within a group of Lebanese adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2022 to March 2023, targeting a nationally representative sample. Results: Fit indices of the three-factor structure were good. Internal reliability was adequate for the following three subscales: Functional Nutrition Literacy (FNL) (ω = 0.88/α = 0.88), Interactive Nutrition Literacy (INL) (ω = 0.87/α = 0.86) and Critical Nutrition Literacy (CNL) (ω = 0.89/α = 0.89). Invariance was established across genders at configural, metric, and scalar levels. A significantly higher mean FNL and INL scores were found in males compared to females, with no significant difference between the two genders in terms of CNL. Higher FNL, but not CNL and INL scores were significantly associated with lower child food security. Conclusions: The Arabic ANLS has exhibited robust psychometric reliability, validity, and cost-effectiveness as a tool for assessing nutrition literacy. By utilizing the Arabic version of the ANLS, we can more efficiently and accurately assess the nutritional literacy of adolescents.

Keywords: adolescent; nutrition literacy; scale; psychometric properties; Arabic

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MDPI and ACS Style

Obeid, S.; Hallit, S.; Fekih-Romdhane, F.; Sacre, Y.; Hokayem, M.; Saeidi, A.; Sabbah, L.; Tzenios, N.; Hoteit, M. Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy. Nutrients 2025, 17, 2457. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152457

AMA Style

Obeid S, Hallit S, Fekih-Romdhane F, Sacre Y, Hokayem M, Saeidi A, Sabbah L, Tzenios N, Hoteit M. Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy. Nutrients. 2025; 17(15):2457. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152457

Chicago/Turabian Style

Obeid, Sahar, Souheil Hallit, Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Yonna Sacre, Marie Hokayem, Ayoub Saeidi, Lamya Sabbah, Nikolaos Tzenios, and Maha Hoteit. 2025. "Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy" Nutrients 17, no. 15: 2457. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152457

APA Style

Obeid, S., Hallit, S., Fekih-Romdhane, F., Sacre, Y., Hokayem, M., Saeidi, A., Sabbah, L., Tzenios, N., & Hoteit, M. (2025). Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy. Nutrients, 17(15), 2457. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152457

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Validating the Arabic Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS): A Reliable Tool for Measuring Nutrition Literacy

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