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Impact of Healthy School Canteen Policies on Food Choices among Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Healthy dietary practices during adolescence are important for healthy growth, development, academic performance, and prevention of nutrition-related health problems. However, secondary school students may frequently consume foods and beverages that are high in sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, and calories because of their availability, affordability, taste preferences, peer influence, and limited access to healthier alternatives. School canteens provide a significant food environment where students make daily purchasing and consumption decisions. Healthy school canteen policies can regulate the types of foods and beverages available to students while promoting nutritious, affordable, and healthier alternatives. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of healthy school canteen policies on food choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Social Ecological Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Theory of Planned Behavior. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, school, community, and environmental factors on students' dietary behaviours. Social Cognitive Theory explains how environmental conditions, observational learning, social influences, reinforcement, and self-efficacy may influence students' food choices. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how students' attitudes toward healthy foods, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control may influence their intentions and actual food choices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how healthy school canteen policies may influence food choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise students enrolled in selected public and private secondary schools across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, schools, classes, and eligible students. Healthy school canteen policies will be assessed using indicators such as availability of written nutrition policies, restrictions on sugary drinks and highly processed foods, availability of fruits and vegetables, provision of balanced meals, food portion guidance, nutritional standards, food pricing strategies, hygiene standards, availability of drinking water, food labelling, monitoring of vendors, and school enforcement of nutrition guidelines. Food choices will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of purchasing fruits and vegetables, consumption of balanced meals, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, confectionery and snacks, fast foods, highly processed foods, water consumption, frequency of purchasing healthier alternatives, and overall dietary choice patterns within and around the school environment. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, food-choice assessment instruments, canteen menus, food sales records where available, direct observation checklists, and relevant school policy documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to healthy canteen policies, and patterns of food choices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of healthy school canteen policies on students' food choices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, food-choice patterns before and after implementation of healthy canteen policies may be compared to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that healthy school canteen policies have a significant positive impact on food choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. Students attending schools with well-implemented healthy canteen policies are expected to demonstrate greater preference for nutritious foods and beverages, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, higher water intake, and reduced purchasing of sugar-sweetened beverages and highly processed snacks compared with students in schools without such policies. Improving the availability, affordability, visibility, and convenience of healthier foods may make nutritious choices easier for students. Nutrition education combined with supportive school food environments may further strengthen students' ability to make appropriate dietary choices. However, students' taste preferences, peer influence, household food practices, food prices, availability of unhealthy foods outside school premises, vendor resistance, and inadequate policy enforcement may limit the effectiveness of healthy canteen policies. The study therefore expects comprehensive, affordable, practical, and consistently enforced healthy school canteen policies to contribute significantly to improved food choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on healthy school canteen policies, adolescent nutrition, food choices, school food environments, nutrition education, healthy eating, obesity prevention, school health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, state ministries of health and education, secondary schools, school administrators, nutritionists, dietitians, parents, food vendors, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving the school food environment. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for developing and enforcing healthy school canteen standards, increasing the availability and affordability of nutritious foods, restricting unhealthy food and beverage options, improving access to safe drinking water, strengthening nutrition education, monitoring school food vendors, and creating supportive school environments that encourage healthy food choices among secondary school students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Healthy school canteen policies, food choices, secondary school students, adolescent nutrition, school food environment, healthy eating, nutrition education, obesity prevention, school health promotion, dietary practices, Nigeria, public health.