Food Preparation Skills, Digital Diet Literacy, Mediterranean Diet Adherence, and Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Among Adults Residing in Istanbul: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption may be associated not only with nutrition knowledge but also with individuals’ practical food-related competencies and overall dietary patterns. Aim: This study investigated how cooking and food skills, dietary literacy, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were related to UPF consumption among adults in İstanbul, Türkiye. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 293 (85.7% female, mean age of 22.63 ± 4.66 years) adults residing in Istanbul, Türkiye between 1 January 2026 and 30 June 2026. Data were collected through an online questionnaire comprising sociodemographic and food-related characteristics, the Cooking Skills and Food Skills Measure, the e-Healthy Diet Literacy Scale (e-HDL), the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), and the Short Screening Questionnaire of Highly Processed Food Consumption (sQ-HPF). Validated Turkish versions of all instruments were used; no measurement tool was developed specifically for this study. Results: 57.0% of participants were classified as having a high level of UPF consumption. The high level of UPF consumption group was younger, cooked at home less frequently, ordered food more frequently, and had lower cooking skills, food skills, and MEDAS scores compared to the low level of UPF consumption group (all p < 0.05). UPF consumption was negatively correlated with food skills (r: −0.33), MEDAS (r = −0.28), cooking skills (r = −0.27), age (r = −0.21), and home-cooking frequency (r = −0.18) and positively correlated with food-ordering frequency (r = 0.18). In the final regression model, younger age (β = −0.144, p = 0.009), lower food skills (β = −0.325, p < 0.001), and lower MEDAS scores (β = −0.252, p < 0.001) were independently associated with higher UPF consumption. E-HDL was not independently associated with UPF consumption. The final model explained 18.4% of the adjusted variance. Conclusions: Among this predominantly young and female sample of adults residing in Istanbul, lower food skills and lower Mediterranean diet adherence co-occurred with higher UPF consumption. Although the direction of these associations cannot be determined, the findings may inform future strategies that integrate nutrition education with practical food preparation support and the promotion of Mediterranean-style food choices.