(P28-024-23) Assessing the Nutrition Literacy of Caregivers Related to Feeding Their Infants and Toddlers

Objectives: Nutrition literacy, or the ability to access, interpret, and use nutrition information, has been studied in adults related to food selection and dietary patterns. However, caregivers’ ability to understand and implement nutrition knowledge when feeding infants and toddlers is less understood. We evaluated nutrition literacy related to early childhood feeding among US caregivers of infants and toddlers aged 6- to 24- months.

Methods: Caregivers were recruited via Qualtrics panels to a cross-sectional study assessing factors influencing the introduction of animal-sourced proteins during the complementary feeding period (1^st Foods Study). In addition to questions about their demographic characteristics, caregivers responded to items that assessed 3 nutrition literacy domains: (1) knowledge of good sources of select nutrients in 8 foods (e.g., “Beef is a good source of protein” [Yes, No, I don’t know]), (2) nutrients of concern for infants and toddlers (e.g., “Most children get enough iron” [Yes, No, I don’t know]), and (3) self-efficacy to apply recommendations to infants and toddlers (“Very Easy” to “Very Difficult”). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant demographics and responses to nutrition literacy items.

Results: Participants (n=447; mean age =31.1±6.1 y; 81% female) were non-Hispanic White (70%); 76.1% attended at least some college, and 34% participated in WIC in the past year. Caregivers correctly identified good sources of protein for their infants/toddlers (Median = 62.5% correct), but misidentified sources of iron (25.0%), zinc (25.0%), or fiber (37.5%). Knowledge of nutrients of concern for infants and toddlers was limited (Median= 50.0% correct). Most caregivers (89.3%) perceived it to be Easy or Very Easy to offer healthy foods to their child but 24.2% reported that it was Difficult or Very Difficult to keep up with information about infant and toddler nutrition.

Conclusions: Caregivers lack knowledge about good sources of nutrients from foods and nutrients of concern for infants and toddlers yet report high self-efficacy. Increasing caregivers’ knowledge of nutrition for infants and toddlers while supporting self-efficacy could be a useful approach for aligning feeding choices with current dietary guidelines.

Funding Sources: National Cattleman’s Beef Association