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Impact of Sugary-Food Awareness Education on Sugary-Food Consumption Practices among Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Abstract

High consumption of sugary foods and beverages is an important public health concern among adolescents because excessive intake of added sugars may contribute to unhealthy dietary patterns, overweight and obesity, dental caries, and increased long-term risk of non-communicable diseases. Secondary school students may frequently consume sugary snacks, confectioneries, sweetened beverages, and other sugar-rich foods because of availability, affordability, taste preferences, peer influence, advertising, and limited awareness of their potential health consequences. Sugary-food awareness education provides an opportunity to improve students' understanding of added sugars, identify foods and beverages with high sugar content, and promote healthier consumption practices. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of sugary-food awareness education on sugary-food consumption practices 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 health problems associated with excessive sugary-food consumption, perceived severity, perceived benefits of reducing sugary-food intake, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence dietary practices. 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 sugary foods, perceived social expectations, and perceived behavioural control may influence their intentions and actual consumption practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how sugary-food awareness education may influence sugary-food consumption practices 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. Sugary-food awareness education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to nutrition education sessions, frequency and duration of education, knowledge of added sugars, ability to identify sugary foods and beverages, understanding of food labels, awareness of recommended sugar intake, knowledge of health consequences associated with excessive sugar consumption, awareness of healthier alternatives, and knowledge of strategies for reducing sugary-food intake. Sugary-food consumption practices will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, confectioneries, sweets, cakes, biscuits, sweetened snacks, and other sugar-rich foods; portion size; consumption of sugary foods between meals; substitution of sugary beverages with water or healthier alternatives; reading of nutrition labels; and overall frequency of high-sugar food consumption. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, food-frequency assessment tools, nutrition knowledge instruments, school canteen or food-environment 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 characteristics, dietary patterns, sources of nutrition information, exposure to sugary-food education, and consumption practices. 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 sugary-food awareness education on sugary-food consumption practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, consumption-practice 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 sugary-food awareness education has a significant positive impact on sugary-food consumption practices among secondary school students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured and practical sugary-food awareness education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of sugar-related health risks and reduced consumption of sugary foods and beverages compared with students without comparable exposure. Education may improve students' ability to identify high-sugar products, interpret nutrition labels, recognize healthier alternatives, reduce the frequency of sugary-food consumption, and make more informed food choices. School-based education supported by practical demonstrations, peer activities, parental involvement, and healthier school food environments may further strengthen students' ability to adopt healthier dietary practices. However, the affordability and widespread availability of sugary foods, aggressive food marketing, peer influence, parental dietary practices, school canteen offerings, and students' taste preferences may limit the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects continuous, age-appropriate, practical, and culturally relevant sugary-food awareness education, supported by healthier school and community food environments, to contribute significantly to improved sugary-food consumption practices among secondary school students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on adolescent nutrition, sugary-food consumption, nutrition education, school health, dietary behaviour, childhood obesity prevention, dental health, 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, schools, teachers, school health personnel, nutritionists, dietitians, parents, food vendors, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for promoting healthier dietary practices among adolescents. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening nutrition education in secondary schools, improving students' understanding of added sugars and food labels, promoting healthier school food environments, increasing parental involvement in adolescent nutrition, improving access to healthier food alternatives, and developing sustainable interventions to reduce excessive sugary-food consumption among secondary school students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Sugary-food awareness education, sugary-food consumption practices, secondary school students, adolescents, nutrition education, dietary practices, sugar-sweetened beverages, healthy eating, obesity prevention, school health, Nigeria, public health.