Abstract

Childhood nutrition education is an important component of public health intervention because it equips mothers and caregivers with knowledge and practical skills required to provide appropriate nutrition for young children. Adequate nutrition during the first five years of life is essential for physical growth, cognitive development, immune function, and overall child health. Dietary practices among mothers of under-five children include food selection, meal frequency, dietary diversity, breastfeeding practices, complementary feeding, portion size, food preparation, and adherence to recommended child-feeding guidelines. In Nigeria, childhood undernutrition remains an important public health concern, with children exposed to conditions such as stunting, wasting, underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies. Poor dietary practices may result from inadequate maternal nutrition knowledge, household food insecurity, poverty, cultural beliefs, limited access to nutritious foods, and inadequate access to reliable health and nutrition information. Nutrition education may improve mothers' understanding of breastfeeding, complementary feeding, dietary diversity, nutrient requirements, food hygiene, and age-appropriate feeding practices and may consequently encourage healthier dietary behaviours. However, nutrition knowledge alone may not always translate into appropriate practices when socioeconomic and environmental barriers limit mothers' ability to implement recommended feeding behaviours. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of childhood nutrition education on dietary practices among mothers of under-five children in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model (HBM), Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) framework. The Health Belief Model explains health-related behaviour through individuals' perceptions of health risks, perceived benefits of recommended practices, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding mothers' adoption of recommended child-feeding practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, behavioural capability, personal beliefs, environmental conditions, and observational learning in shaping dietary behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how nutrition education improves knowledge and attitudes that may subsequently influence dietary practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a comprehensive framework for explaining how childhood nutrition education may influence dietary practices among mothers of under-five children in Nigeria. The study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional research design. Primary data will be collected from mothers or primary caregivers of children under five years of age in selected communities and healthcare facilities in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, communities, healthcare facilities, and eligible mothers. Childhood nutrition education will be measured using mothers' exposure to nutrition education, knowledge of breastfeeding recommendations, complementary feeding, dietary diversity, meal frequency, micronutrient requirements, food preparation, food hygiene, and age-appropriate feeding practices. Dietary practices will be assessed using breastfeeding practices, timing of complementary feeding, minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency, consumption of nutrient-rich foods, food-group variety, feeding frequency, responsive feeding, and adherence to recommended child-feeding practices. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize respondents' sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to nutrition education, nutrition knowledge, and dietary practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis, will be employed to determine the influence of childhood nutrition education on dietary practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess multicollinearity, model specification, goodness of fit, and the robustness of the estimated relationships. The study anticipates that childhood nutrition education will have a significant positive influence on dietary practices among mothers of under-five children in Nigeria. Mothers with greater exposure to accurate and practical nutrition education are expected to demonstrate better knowledge of breastfeeding, complementary feeding, dietary diversity, meal frequency, nutrient-rich food choices, and appropriate food preparation methods. Such knowledge may encourage mothers to initiate and sustain recommended breastfeeding practices, introduce complementary foods at appropriate times, provide diverse diets, and ensure adequate meal frequency for their children. However, nutrition education alone may not guarantee appropriate dietary practices because mothers may face barriers such as poverty, household food insecurity, high food prices, limited availability of nutritious foods, inadequate cooking facilities, cultural beliefs, and limited decision-making power over household resources. Consequently, the effectiveness of nutrition education is expected to be enhanced when educational interventions are accompanied by improved access to nutritious and affordable foods, supportive household environments, and accessible maternal and child health services. This study is expected to make significant contributions to the literature on child nutrition, maternal health education, dietary practices, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between childhood nutrition education and dietary practices among mothers of under-five children. The findings will provide useful information for the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, state ministries of health, primary healthcare facilities, nutrition programme managers, community health workers, development partners, and policymakers regarding the role of nutrition education in improving child feeding practices. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening maternal nutrition education, improving community-based nutrition counselling, promoting appropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, increasing access to practical nutrition information, addressing food and nutrition misconceptions, and integrating nutrition education into maternal and child healthcare programmes to improve the nutritional well-being of children under five in Nigeria.

Keywords: Childhood nutrition education, dietary practices, mothers, under-five children, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, dietary diversity, child nutrition, maternal health education, public health, Nigeria.