Health literacy and obesity: A systematic scoping review

Ashleigh Upton; Dean Spirou; Matthew Craig; Natalie Saul; Olivia Winmill; Phillipa Hay; Jayanthi Raman

doi:10.1111/obr.13904

journal article Open Access Feb 11, 2025

Health literacy and obesity: A systematic scoping review

Ashleigh Upton

Dean Spirou

Matthew Craig Natalie Saul Olivia Winmill Phillipa Hay

Jayanthi Raman

Obesity Reviews Vol. 26 No. 6 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/obr.13904

Abstract

SummaryObesity is a preventable global health epidemic that has serious health consequences. Health literacy has been identified as an underlying and modifiable factor in the development and maintenance of obesity. Adequate levels of health literacy have been shown to significantly impact on weight loss, weight loss maintenance, and associated health outcomes.ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to systematically review extant literature to evaluate the way in which health literacy is measured for individuals with obesity and to identify the key areas of health literacy that are commonly assessed.MethodThis systematic scoping review was conducted over five databases and yielded 12 papers (Nparticipants = 15,393) that represented our search strategy and inclusion and exclusion criteria.ResultsThe review highlighted there are currently multiple measures that exist that assess independent or dual domains of health literacy; however, there were no studies that specifically utilized a measure that holistically assessed the three maintaining and modifiable domains of health literacy of obesity (psychological knowledge, nutritional knowledge, and knowledge about physical activity).ConclusionGiven the dearth of targeted health literacy measures for obesity, our findings highlighted a critical need to develop a distinct measure of health literacy for obesity to guide policy, research, education, and intervention.

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Details

Published: Feb 11, 2025
Vol/Issue: 26(6)
License: View

Authors

A

Ashleigh Upton