INTRODUCTION:

The level of Nutrition Literacy and Food Literacy has been associated with health benefits. The Food and Nutrition Literacy Scale assesses the level of Nutrition Literacy and Food Literacy in Iranian adolescents. To this day, there is no translated and adapted tool for the Portuguese language that assesses Food Literacy and Nutrition Literacy.

OBJECTIVES:

To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Food and Nutrition Literacy Scale scale for the Portuguese language in Portuguese adolescents.

METHODOLOGY:

After obtaining the Portuguese version of the scale (through a process of translation and back-translation), its cross-cultural adaptation was performed through the participation of 30 adolescents in a semi-structured interview with the direct application of a preliminary version of the scale. A qualitative analysis of the transcripts was performed and the scale was reformulated. A panel of experts was asked to review and validate the scale. The Content Validity Index and the Scale-Content Validity Index were calculated for relevance, adequacy and clarity of each item. Items with a Content Validity Index <0.83 were reformulated.

RESULTS:

Eight adolescents (30.8%) presented a moderate literacy level. Girls had a significantly higher score than boys (69.4% vs. 64.3%, p=0.021). The subscale "Critical food and nutrition literacy" had the lowest median score (30.8%). This work led to the final version of the scale in the Portuguese language.

CONCLUSIONS:

With this scale it will be possible to quantify the level of Nutrition Literacy and Food Literacy among Portuguese adolescents and to assess the effectiveness of intervention projects and food-related policies in this age group.

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