FACTORS AFFECTING FOOD LITERACY AMONG MALE POLICE OFFICERS BORDER PATROL POLICE HEADQUARTERS

Abstract

The aims of this research are as follows: 1) to evaluate the level of food literacy, and 2) to compare factors affecting the level of food literacy of 392 male police officers aged 45 years and over from the Border Patrol Police Headquarters. The tools used include: 1) Personal information form, and 2) Food knowledge assessment form (practice behavior). The quality of the tools was assessed by five experts. Data were analyzed using percentages, means, and standard deviations. The statistics used in the analysis to answer the research questions included Independent Sample t-test, One-way ANOVA, and Multiple Comparison. Statistical significance was set at the level of 0.05. The results of the research found that male police officers of the Border Patrol Police Headquarters have a level of food literacy in the interaction level for the four dimensions of food literacy: selection, planning and management, preparation, and eating. When considering the factors affecting the level of food literacy, it was found that the importance given to main meals, the methods of buying ingredients for cooking, and the cooking methods affect the level of food literacy, with statistical significance at (p<0.05). Factors such as police rank level, age, education, status, presence of congenital disease, and the number of meals per day did not affect the level of food literacy. This indicates for organizing programs or guidelines for developing the level of food literacy in the further.