IMPACT OF NUTRITION EDUCATION ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD CHOICE AND HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION OF PROCESSED FOODS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This research assesses the nutrition education and household food choice/consumption patterns in Delta State, Nigeria. It attempts to explore how nutrition education shapes the choice and consumption of processed foods, focusing on sugary drinks, packaged snacks, and instant noodles. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for this research. A survey was given to 384 households. The study utilised Pearson Product Moment and multiple regression statistics. A Pearson correlation analysis revealed a moderate to strong positive relationship (r = 0.723) between the two variables, suggesting that higher levels of nutrition education are associated with improved food choices and consumption patterns. The correlation was found to be statistically significant, with a p-value of 0.039, indicating that the observed relationship is unlikely to be due to chance. These findings suggest that nutrition education programs may be crucial in promoting healthier dietary behaviours. However, while the study highlights the positive impact of nutrition education, it also emphasises the need to consider additional factors such as socioeconomic status, food accessibility, and cultural influences that may also affect food choices. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on the importance of nutrition education in public health interventions aimed at improving dietary habits and preventing diet-related diseases. This study emphasizes that nutrition education is essential in bringing about healthier dietary practices and therefore, recommends targeted nutrition education programmes as a valuable strategy in the improvement of public health and reduction of diet-related diseases in the state.