The relevance of nutrition to national development is very strategic; even though many subSaharan African countries do not consider nutritional challenges as critical. Poor disposition to nutrition in many African countries are aggravated by the quality of nutrition professionals in the region. There is lack of reliable information regarding the number of people working as nutrition professionals and the quality of the training received. Majority of countries in Africa cannot boast of world-class nutrition training institutes and linkages with standard foreign institutes are few. The dearth of highly qualified nutrition professionals has resulted into poor nutrition programme planning, implementation and evaluation. In some cases, the outcome of many nutrition intervention programmes is at variance with the set goals due to faulty programme planning and design. It is obvious that urgent consideration should be given to capacity building of nutrition professionals in developing countries, especially in those countries where the problem of malnutrition has remained unabated for many years. Developmental assistance from donor countries and other global bodies should have nutrition components. Capacity building in nutrition stands as one of the most costeffective veritable tools to enhance national progress. However, the UNICEF's Conceptual Framework on the Causes of Malnutrition may need to include lack of capacity building for nutrition professionals as part of the strategies to tackle the underlying causes of malnutrition in developing countries. Availability of competent professionals in the field of nutrition may be the beginning of profitable journey to solving many problems confronting the continent of Africa.

Context: Childhood obesity has risen dramatically in the last four decades. Childhood obesity is likely to continue through adulthood and increases the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life. Aims: This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perception of the secondary school students in Ikeja local government, Lagos state towards the risk factors of overweight and obesity. Methods and Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using a structured questionnaire administered on consenting participants. The completed questionnaires collected from the participants was then analyzed. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 6.6% and 1.4%. Overall knowledge (<50%) of students regarding the risk factors of overweight and obesity was very low. Majority of the students (97.4%) do daily exercise, 48.4% spend at least 30 minutes doing exercise daily. However, 62.0% watching television, 18.7% play video games, and 35.8% sleep for more than 8 hours daily. Participants also showed negative perception towards the effects of overweight and obesity. There was a significant association between age, gender, class, and body mass with knowledge, attitude, and perception of respondents towards risk factors and effects of overweight and obesity ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: Despite the low prevalence of overweight and obesity, low knowledge, poor attitude and negative perception regarding risk factors of overweight and obesity, the majority of the students perceived regular exercise as an important means of reducing overweight and obesity.

Of 1,200 questionnaires administered in a cross-sectional study involving University of Ibadan female students, 1000 were found useable for data analysis. Analysis found that a majority of respondents (56.4%) had little knowledge about conception and frequently engaged in sexual intercourse for many reasons, including: to have fun; to show they were mature; and to seek material reward. Also, 61.1% had procured abortion before and most of them did not procure it from government-owned hospitals/clinics, which may likely make them prone to health consequences of unsafe abortion. Part of our recommendations are the need to introduce health education (incorporating sexuality education) into the General Studies Program of the university and that home training on aspects relating to sexuality education be given to and promoted among young people.

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Background: Adolescent females have reduced ability to self-detect breast abnormalities early. Improving their knowledge and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) will reverse this trend. Objective: This study evaluated the effect of two interventions on BSE knowledge and practice among in-school adolescent females in Delta State, Nigeria. Methods: A quasi-experimental research was conducted among ninety female secondary school students selected using a multistage sampling technique from three public secondary schools in the state. There were three groups: two experimental groups and a control. Experimental groups had BSE educational pamphlet alone (BPAM), and a combination of BSE pamphlet and BSE training (BPAME). The control group had a cervical cancer educational pamphlet. Participants were followed-up for eight weeks after the study implementation. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23.0. Results: Mean age of respondents was 15.64 ± 1.33years. There was a significant difference in the respondents' level of BSE knowledge between baseline and 8 weeks follow-up (BPAM=5.20±2.28 to 21.56±1.85, t =29.44, 29 p<.05; BPAME=7.03±1.13 to 21.73±1.26, t =31.77, p<.05), and a significant difference in the level of BSE practice 29 between baseline and 8 weeks follow-up (BPAM 0.33±1.21 to 4.90± 1.56, t =13.25, p<.05; BPAME= 32.76±4.66 29 to 63.83±2.80, t =18.99, p<.05). Both interventions had same impact on BSE knowledge (Effect size ES=0.97, 29 p=0.000) but BPAME had a higher impact on BSE practice [(BPAM: ES=0.87, p=0.000) and (BPAME: ES=0.92, p=0.000)]. Conclusion: Both interventions had significant influence on the respondents' knowledge and practice of BSE but combined BSE pamphlet and training had more impact on BSE practice.