E-healthy diet literacy is associated with psychological well-being and diet-related risk behaviors among university students in Turkiye: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

E-healthy diet literacy is the ability to find, understand, appraise, and apply online healthy-eating information. We examined its associations with psychological well-being and diet-related risk behaviors in a cross-sectional convenience sample of 331 undergraduates aged 18-26 years in Ankara, Turkiye; 84.9% were female. Participants completed the e-Healthy Diet Literacy Questionnaire (e-HDLQ), World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and Eating Habits Index (EHI). Associations were modeled using multivariable linear regression and an exploratory covariate-adjusted path analysis with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. After multivariable adjustment, higher e-HDLQ scores were associated with higher WHO-5 scores (unstandardized B = 0.443; standardized beta = 0.179; 95% confidence interval [CI] for B, 0.174 to 0.713; p = 0.001) and, in a model additionally including WHO-5, with lower EHI scores (B = - 0.123; beta= -0.281; 95% CI for B, - 0.171 to - 0.075; p < 0.001). A one-standard-deviation higher e-HDLQ score was associated with a WHO-5 score 3.38 percentage points higher and an EHI score 0.94 points lower. The bias-corrected 95% CI for the indirect component through WHO-5 included zero. Associations were modest; the EHI estimate warrants cautious interpretation because internal consistency was low (Cronbach's alpha= 0.56). Concurrent measurement does not establish temporal ordering or causality.