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Effect of Healthy Snack Education on Healthy Snack Choices among Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Healthy snack consumption is an important component of adolescent nutrition because snacks may contribute significantly to students' daily energy and nutrient intake. However, frequent consumption of energy-dense and nutrient-poor snacks such as confectioneries, sugar-sweetened beverages, highly processed foods, and fried snacks may contribute to unhealthy dietary patterns, excessive energy intake, overweight, obesity, and other diet-related health problems. Secondary school students may make unhealthy snack choices because of limited nutrition knowledge, peer influence, food advertising, affordability, convenience, taste preferences, and the widespread availability of unhealthy snacks around schools. Healthy snack education provides an opportunity to improve students' knowledge of nutritious snack options and encourage healthier food-selection practices. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of healthy snack education on healthy snack choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Theory of Planned Behavior. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of susceptibility to diet-related health problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of choosing healthy snacks, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their snack choices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, behavioural modelling, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and the influence of family, peers, schools, and the food environment on students' dietary behaviours. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how students' attitudes toward healthy snacks, perceived social expectations, and perceived behavioural control may influence their intentions and actual snack-selection practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how healthy snack education may influence healthy snack 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 in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, schools, classes, and eligible students. Healthy snack education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to nutrition education sessions, frequency and duration of education, knowledge of healthy snack options, awareness of nutrient-rich snacks, ability to identify foods high in added sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, knowledge of food labels, awareness of appropriate snack portions, knowledge of the health benefits of healthy snacks, and understanding of strategies for making healthier snack choices. Healthy snack choices will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of choosing fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole-grain foods, low-sugar foods, and other nutrient-dense snacks; frequency of consuming confectioneries, sugar-sweetened beverages, fried snacks, highly processed foods, and other energy-dense snacks; reading of nutrition labels; portion selection; and overall preference for healthier snack options. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, nutrition knowledge assessment tools, snack-choice questionnaires, food-frequency assessment instruments, school canteen or food-vendor observation checklists, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, snack consumption patterns, sources of nutrition information, exposure to healthy snack education, and snack 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 effect of healthy snack education on healthy snack choices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, healthy snack-choice scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group 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 snack education has a significant positive effect on healthy snack choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured and practical healthy snack education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge and a greater preference for nutritious snack options than students without comparable exposure. Education may improve students' ability to identify healthier foods, interpret nutrition labels, recognize foods high in added sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, select appropriate portions, and make healthier choices when purchasing snacks. Practical demonstrations using affordable and locally available Nigerian foods may further improve students' confidence in selecting and preparing healthier snacks. However, the availability and affordability of unhealthy snacks, food advertising, peer influence, school food environments, parental practices, taste preferences, and limited access to nutritious alternatives may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects continuous, practical, age-appropriate, and culturally relevant healthy snack education, supported by healthier school food environments and improved availability of nutritious snack options, to contribute significantly to improved healthy snack choices among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on adolescent nutrition, healthy snack consumption, nutrition education, dietary behaviour, school health, childhood obesity prevention, healthy eating, non-communicable disease prevention, 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, teachers, school health personnel, nutritionists, dietitians, parents, food vendors, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving adolescent dietary practices. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating healthy snack education into school health programmes, improving nutrition education among students, promoting healthier school canteen and food-vending practices, increasing access to affordable nutritious snacks, strengthening parental involvement in adolescent nutrition, and developing sustainable interventions for improving healthy snack choices among secondary school students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Healthy snack education, healthy snack choices, secondary school students, adolescents, nutrition education, dietary behaviour, healthy eating, school health, obesity prevention, snack consumption, Nigeria, public health.