Greater nutritional knowledge during adolescence was associated with better dietary quality in adulthood, as reflected by a higher Diet Quality Index (p=0.004; r=0.25), suggesting that assessment of nutritional knowledge during adolescence might serve as a simple and effective tool for early identification of individuals at risk of poor dietary habits and increased cardiovascular risk.
Higher nutritional knowledge during adolescence was associated with better dietary quality in adulthood as measured by the Diet Quality Index (DQI).
Nutritional knowledge during adolescence correlated inversely with the modified Pathobiological Determinants for Atherosclerosis in Youth (mPDAY) cardiovascular risk score in adulthood.
Nutritional knowledge during adolescence was not associated with cardiovascular parameters, physical fitness, or dietary quality indices during adolescence itself.
Nutritional knowledge in adulthood was associated with better cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in adulthood.
Nutritional knowledge was assessed using the Nutritional Knowledge Test at both adolescence and adulthood time points.
The study authors suggest that nutritional knowledge assessment during adolescence could serve as a tool for identifying individuals at risk of poor dietary habits and increased cardiovascular risk.
This research suggests that teenagers who have better knowledge about nutrition tend to eat healthier diets approximately 10–14 years later as young adults. The study followed 143 young people from four European countries (Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain), testing their nutritional knowledge when they were between 12.5 and 17.5 years old, and then re-examining them when they were 22–31 years old. Those who scored higher on a nutritional knowledge test during their teenage years had higher diet quality scores and lower cardiovascular risk scores as adults, even though better nutritional knowledge during adolescence did not appear to translate into healthier habits right away. Interestingly, having more nutritional knowledge as a teenager did not seem to make a difference to diet or cardiovascular health at that same point in time — the benefits only became apparent years later. In adulthood, higher nutritional knowledge was linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness, but this was a snapshot association rather than a long-term one. The study also assessed ultra-processed food consumption, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and physical fitness. This research suggests that measuring nutritional knowledge in schools could be a practical way to identify teenagers who may be at greater risk of poor dietary habits and heart-related health problems later in life. It also points to the potential value of nutrition education programs in schools as a long-term investment in public health, since the knowledge young people gain appears to influence their eating behaviors well into adulthood.
Béghin L, Morcel J, Michels N, Leroy M, Ternynck C, Labreuche J, et al.. (2026). High nutritional knowledge during adolescence is associated with healthier dietary habits in adulthood: a longitudinal cohort study.. European journal of nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-026-03968-y