Abstract: Objective To investigate the association between dietary nutrition literacy and the nutritional risk among community-dwelling elderly adults. Methods A total of 118 elderly patients hospitalized at the community health service center and those receiving home care from April 2022 to December 2023 were enrolled in this study. After obtaining informed consent, the trained staffs conducted on-site surveys using dietary nutrition questionnaires and nutritional risk screening scales. Results There were no statistically significant differences in age, body mass index, education level, chronic conditions,the proportion of concerning the importance of balanced nutrition, self-perceived nutritional status, perceived importance of nutritional guidance, and willingness to participate in community-based nutritional interventions(all P>0.05), while there were significant differences in the proportion of awareness of the Dietary Guidelines Pyramid(P<0.01) between the elderly adults with nutritional risk and those without. Logistic regression analysis showed that being aware of the Dietary Guidelines Pyramid and being satisfied with one’s own nutrition status were the protective factors of nutritional risk among community-dwelling elderly adults. Conclusions Dietary nutrition literacy has a crucial impact on the nutritional risk among community-dwelling elderly adults.It is necessary to actively carry out health education on nutrition knowledge for the elderly in the future.

Key words: dietary nutrition, aged, nutritional risks, dietary pagoda, nutrition intervention, influencing factor