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Effect of Food Portion Education on Portion-Control Practices among Adults in Nigeria

Abstract

Unhealthy food portion sizes are an important public health and nutrition concern because consistently consuming portions that exceed individual energy requirements may contribute to excessive energy intake, overweight, obesity, and increased risk of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Adults in Nigeria may consume large food portions because of cultural eating practices, social expectations, increased availability of energy-dense foods, eating outside the home, limited understanding of appropriate portion sizes, and the perception that larger portions represent better value or adequate feeding. Food portion education provides an opportunity to improve adults' knowledge of appropriate portion sizes and promote practical strategies for controlling the amount of food consumed during meals. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of food portion education on portion-control practices among adults 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 adults' perceptions of susceptibility to overweight and diet-related health problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of portion control, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence dietary practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, behavioural modelling, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and environmental influences in developing and maintaining healthy eating behaviours. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how attitudes toward portion control, perceived social expectations, and perceived behavioural control may influence adults' intentions and actual portion-control practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how food portion education may influence portion-control practices among adults in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adults aged 18 years and above residing in selected urban, semi-urban, and rural communities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, households, and eligible adults. Food portion education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to portion-education sessions, frequency and duration of education, knowledge of appropriate serving sizes, understanding of food-group portions, awareness of energy-dense foods, knowledge of standard household serving measures, ability to estimate portion sizes, awareness of the relationship between portion size and energy intake, knowledge of balanced meal composition, and understanding of practical portion-control strategies. Portion-control practices will be assessed using indicators such as serving smaller portions, using smaller plates or bowls where appropriate, measuring or estimating food portions, avoiding unnecessary second servings, controlling portions of energy-dense foods, balancing portions across food groups, monitoring portion sizes when eating outside the home, reading food labels where applicable, responding appropriately to hunger and fullness cues, and maintaining consistent portion-control practices. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, nutrition knowledge assessment tools, dietary assessment instruments, food-frequency questionnaires, portion-size estimation tools, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Where feasible, anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, and body mass index may also be assessed to provide additional information about participants' nutritional status. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' demographic characteristics, dietary patterns, nutritional status, exposure to portion education, and portion-control 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 effect of food portion education on portion-control practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, portion-control 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 food portion education has a significant positive effect on portion-control practices among adults in Nigeria. Adults exposed to structured and practical portion education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of appropriate serving sizes and greater adoption of portion-control practices than adults without comparable exposure. Education may improve participants' ability to estimate appropriate portions, use household measures, avoid excessive servings, control energy-dense foods, and construct more balanced meals. Practical demonstrations using familiar Nigerian foods, plates, bowls, cups, and other household measures may strengthen participants' ability to translate portion knowledge into everyday dietary practices. However, cultural eating patterns, large household meal preparation, social expectations around food, affordability, food availability, eating outside the home, and individual preferences may limit the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects continuous, practical, culturally appropriate, and accessible food portion education, supported by supportive household and community food environments, to contribute significantly to improved portion-control practices among adults in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on nutrition education, portion control, healthy eating, dietary behaviour, obesity prevention, overweight prevention, non-communicable disease prevention, community nutrition, health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, primary healthcare centres, nutritionists, dietitians, community health workers, public health practitioners, healthcare professionals, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for promoting healthier eating practices among adults. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating food portion education into community nutrition programmes and primary healthcare services, improving public awareness of appropriate serving sizes, promoting practical portion-estimation skills using locally available foods and utensils, strengthening nutrition counselling, and developing sustainable interventions for preventing unhealthy weight gain and diet-related health problems across Nigeria.

Keywords: Food portion education, portion-control practices, adults, nutrition education, portion size, healthy eating, obesity prevention, dietary behaviour, non-communicable disease prevention, Nigeria, public health.