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

Abstract

Food choices among university students are an important public health concern because dietary behaviours developed during young adulthood may influence nutritional status and the future risk of diet-related health conditions. University students in Nigeria may frequently consume processed foods, fried meals, sugar-sweetened beverages, and other energy-dense foods because of affordability, convenience, taste preferences, peer influence, academic schedules, and the food environment surrounding university campuses. Healthy canteen policies can modify this environment by promoting the availability, affordability, visibility, and accessibility of healthier food and beverage options within university canteens. Such policies may include increasing the availability of fruits and vegetables, providing balanced meals, reducing excessive salt and unhealthy fats, limiting sugar-sweetened beverages, improving food labelling, promoting safe food preparation, and encouraging healthier portion sizes. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of healthy canteen policies on food choices among university students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Social Ecological Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Nudge Theory. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors on students' food choices. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how attitudes toward healthy eating, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and behavioural intentions may influence students' food-selection decisions. Nudge Theory explains how modifications in the choice environment, such as product placement, pricing, availability, labelling, and presentation, may encourage healthier choices without eliminating alternative options. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how healthy canteen policies may influence food choices among university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18 years and above enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, canteens, and eligible students. Healthy canteen policies will be assessed using indicators such as availability of fruits and vegetables, provision of balanced meals, availability of healthier snacks, availability of drinking water, reduced availability or promotion of sugar-sweetened beverages, reduction of excessive salt and unhealthy fats, healthier cooking methods, portion-size guidance, nutrition labelling, food placement and presentation, pricing of healthier options, food hygiene standards, and implementation of institutional nutrition guidelines. Food choices will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of selecting fruits and vegetables, selection of balanced meals, consumption of whole grains and legumes, choice of healthier protein sources, selection of healthier snacks, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, fried foods and highly processed foods, portion-size choices, water consumption, and frequency of purchasing healthier options from university canteens. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, food-choice assessment tools, canteen observation checklists, food availability assessments, menu reviews, food-purchase records where available, and relevant university health or nutrition programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' characteristics, food preferences, canteen-use patterns, availability of food options, and 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 canteen policies on food choices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, food-choice patterns before and after implementation of healthy canteen policies may be compared with those of a comparison campus or canteen 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 canteen policies have a significant positive impact on food choices among university students in Nigeria. Students exposed to university canteens with stronger healthy-food policies are expected to demonstrate greater selection of nutritious foods and reduced selection of less healthy food and beverage options than students exposed to conventional canteen environments. Increased availability and visibility of fruits, vegetables, balanced meals, healthier snacks, and drinking water may make healthier options easier to select. Appropriate pricing, portion guidance, nutrition labelling, and strategic food placement may further encourage healthier choices. However, food prices, student income, taste preferences, peer influence, cultural food preferences, availability of unhealthy alternatives outside campus, and limited enforcement of institutional policies may reduce the effectiveness of healthy canteen policies. The study therefore expects comprehensive, affordable, well-enforced, and student-centred healthy canteen policies to contribute significantly to improved food choices among university students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on healthy food environments, university nutrition, canteen policies, food choices, nutrition education, dietary behaviour, health promotion, obesity prevention, food environments, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university management, student unions, nutritionists, dietitians, public health practitioners, food vendors, healthcare professionals, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for creating healthier university food environments. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for developing and enforcing healthy canteen policies, increasing access to affordable nutritious foods, improving nutrition labelling, promoting healthier food preparation methods, regulating the availability and promotion of sugar-sweetened beverages, encouraging healthier food pricing and placement strategies, and strengthening nutrition and health-promotion programmes within universities across Nigeria.

Keywords: Healthy canteen policies, food choices, university students, healthy food environment, university nutrition, dietary behaviour, nutrition education, health promotion, food selection, Nigeria, public health.