Nutrition‐Exercise Behaviors, Health Literacy Level, and Related Factors in Adolescents in Turkey

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Health behaviors of adolescents affect their health and well‐being into adulthood. This study was conducted to determine the nutrition‐exercise behaviors, health literacy level, and related factors in adolescents. METHODS A cross‐sectional design was used for this study. Overall, 810 students in grades 6–8 in a Turkish school completed the study. A personal information form, the Nutrition‐Exercise Behaviors Scale, and the Health Literacy for School‐Aged Children Scale were used for data collection. RESULTS According to the mean score of the Health Literacy Scale, 21% of the students had a low level of health literacy, 63.8% had a medium level, and 15.2% had a high level. A positive correlation was found between health literacy level and healthy nutrition‐exercise behavior (r = 0.345, p