Effectiveness of nutrition education in enhancing knowledge and attitude of pupils on choice of school mid‐day meal in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Children's food choices affect their nutritional health, development, and well‐being. In Nigeria, school lunch is generally unregulated; the food menu is usually at the discretion of individual vendors forcing pupils to make unsupervised food choices. This study examined the effectiveness of 6‐week nutrition education in enhancing pupils' knowledge and attitude on the school mid‐day meal choices in Ibadan, Nigeria. A pre‐test/post‐test, quasi‐experimental study was conducted with 100 pupils in 4th and 5th grades in public primary schools. Multistage sampling was used to select the participants. A nutrition education module and a questionnaire were used to collect the data. Frequency counts and t‐test were used for statistical analysis. Findings revealed the following dietary pattern: 44 of the pupils preferred junk food (mean 41.5, SD = 12.9), 37 were inclined toward protein‐rich food (mean 37.7, SD = 12.5), 32 favored food items dense in carbohydrates (mean 34.4, SD = 9.5), and 11 showed a preference toward food with high vitamins and minerals (mean 28.4, SD = 7.5). Nutrition knowledge (t = 6.4, df = 99, p < .05); (pre‐test: trueX¯ = 20.9 and SD = 1.0; post‐test: trueX¯ = 22.8, SD = 2.8) and attitude toward choice of meal showed statistically significant differences (t = 4.9, df = 99, p < .05; pre‐test: trueX¯ = 13.5 and SD = 6.8; post‐test: trueX¯ = 18.2, SD = 7.2). We recommend that the Ministry of Education should prepare a standard lunch menu for all schools and the school authorities should enforce it through the schools' food vendors.

Improving child nutrition in disasters by developing a modeled disaster preparedness nutrition education curriculum

“…Guided by the results from previous studies ( 12 , 30 ), curricula for school-aged students were drafted for a DPNEP. A consultative approach was used to synthesize the knowledge of a group of diverse experts through discussion.…”

“…Moreover, they are not faced with the challenge of preparing for secondary school; therefore, targeting this group could encourage implementation in practice. Previous studies ( 30 , 48 ) have demonstrated that the inclusion of 30 min of nutritional education per week in elementary school schedules is effective in improving healthy eating behavior; thus, it is important to provide nutrition education that integrates disaster preparedness into the formal education system to develop children’s abilities and preparedness for disasters. This will improve children’s understanding of nutrition in daily life and during disasters and provide opportunities for them to share what they have learned with their families, thereby promoting family and community understanding.…”

“…Although built on a robust foundation of previous research on nutrition education for fourth- and fifth-grade students ( 30 ) and a scoping review of child nutrition during disasters ( 12 ), this study is not without its limitations. First, despite extensive background research, the current program did not have a specific pilot study tailored to its content and target population.…”

Utilization of Health Services by Stunting Families in Tasikmalaya

“…In families of stunting individuals with 38.9% do not have health insurance. The definition of income, according to Adeoya, Akinwusi and Nagatomi (2023), is the income of the entire family members calculated in one month. The amount of income will be related to the use of health services.…”

Effects of food price on nutrition outcomes among women in Nigeria

“…In terms of wasting, food price inflation had little impact on a child's development (weight for height). Nutrition and evaluation of nutritional status among children under the age of 5 have received a lot of attention in developing nations like Nigeria (Adeoya et al, 2023 ; Nkonde et al, 2021 ), but nutrition among women has received less consideration and examination. Furthermore, the awareness of food price and its impacts on body mass index among women is low and there is the misperception that food price does not affect nutrition outcomes.…”