Sources of nutrition information and level of nutrition knowledge among young adults in the Accra metropolis

BACKGROUND: Acquiring accurate and adequate nutrition information is important as it could inform nutritional choices positively and promote the maintenance of a healthy nutritional status. This study assessed a sample of young adults’ nutrition knowledge and identified where they gather information from to guide nutritional choices. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study involving young adults (N=192) between 18 to 25 years recruited at shopping areas in the Accra Metropolis of Ghana. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic characteristics, sources of nutrition information and basic nutrition knowledge. Pearson chi-square test was used to identify possible differences between high and low scorers of the knowledge assessment in terms of their nutrition information acquisition behaviours and logistic regression was conducted to ascertain whether source of nutrition information was related to participants’ nutrition knowledge. RESULTS: Online resources were the most popular source (92.7%) used to seek information on nutrition among study participants, and healthcare professionals were perceived to be the most reliable source of nutrition information. Additionally, participants who used healthcare professionals as a source of nutrition information were 61% (95% CI: 0.15-0.99) more likely to have a high nutrition knowledge than participants who did not consult healthcare professionals for nutrition information. CONCLUSION: Online resources serve as a very common source of nutrition information for young adults. Thus, healthcare professionals may need to adopt this as a useful channel to circulate trustworthy nutrition information to this age group. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-6159-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.