Introduction & Aim: Adolescence is a complex, sensitive and multidimensional period inhuman development process. One of the factors that plays an essential role in the growth andmaturity of adolescents is nutrition. Proper nutrition during this period of life can affect thequality and quantity of growth and especially puberty. In this regard, health literacy ofadolescents is of particular importance, because people with high levels of health literacy havebetter health outcomes than individuals with limited health literacy.Materials and Methods: The present study is an experimental intervention that was conductedon 15-18 years old female adolescents studying in high schools of Zahedan, Iran. The datacollection tools in this study consisted of three questionnaires.
Health literacy data werecollected by HELMA questionnaire, whose validity and reliability have been proven byCronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.95.
Nutritional performance was assessed by the NutritionalPerformance Questionnaire of Jalili et al (2017), whose validity and reliability in this studywere evaluated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.71. Necessary trainings with posters andeducational booklets (designed by the researcher) as well as PowerPoint were delivered in 3sessions of 45 to 60 minutes. One month after the last session, a post-test was carried out in thecontrol and intervention groups. The SPSS software version 26 was used to analyze the data.Results: The results showed a significant difference between health literacy and nutritionalperformance of students in the two groups of intervention and control after the intervention (Pvalue<0.001), so that educational intervention increased the health literacy and nutritionalperformance of students. Also, a significant and positive relationship was found betweenstudents' health literacy and nutritional performance (P-value <0.05).Conclusion: According to the results of present study, it is necessary for policy makers andplanners to improve the health literacy of adolescents and students through interventionprograms to promote health literacy, increase awareness and attitude, and improve nutritionalbehaviors of adolescents.