THE EFFECT OF NUTRITION EDUCATION ON FEMALE EATING HABITS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: To assist the voluntary adoption of food choices and other food- and nutrition-related behaviours that are beneficial to one's health and well-being, nutrition education can be defined as any combination of teaching tactics that are supported by environmental supports (Mahan, Escott-Stump 2021). The dissemination of nutrition education takes place across a variety of platforms and include actions on the individual, community, and policy levels (Jones and Bartletti, 2007). Dr. Isobel Contento, a preeminent figure in the field of nutrition education, is credited with authoring this definition, which has been approved by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behaviour and is used by the Society. The work of nutrition educators can be found in a variety of settings, including schools, colleges, and universities; government agencies; cooperative extension programmes; communications and public relations firms; the food industry; voluntary and service organisations; and other credible sources of information on nutrition and health education (Nicklas, Johnson, Myers, Farris, Cunningham 2021). A position statement addressing the dietary requirements of adolescents was recently released by the Nigerian Dietetic Association (ADA). In this article, it was mentioned that the health of teenagers is reliant on regular dietary intakes, and that the supply of foods that contain enough amounts of energy and nutrients was crucial for physical, social, and cognitive growth and development (Elliot, Goldberg, Moe, Defrancesco, Durham & Hix-Small 2022). Consuming a sufficient amount of nutrients during the teen years is vitally important for a variety of reasons. Because of the rapid changes that take place in a person's body, mind, and thoughts throughout this stage of life, adolescence is a particularly remarkable and distinct era (Mahan, Escott-Stump 2021). Adolescence is a stage that occurs between childhood and maturity. The period of time encapsulated by the age of adolescence is one in which a person's body is undergoing the process of transitioning into that of an adult. It is a period when the teenager is urgently trying to be socially accepted by his classmates while at the same time trying to build his own unique identity (Lulinski, 2001). Hormonal shifts that occur during puberty are responsible for the acceleration of height gain. The first year of an individual's existence is the only other moment in their life when growth is quicker than it is now (Brasel, 1982). The fact that teenagers gain up to fifty percent of their adult weight, twenty-five percent or more of their adult height, and fifty percent or more of their adult skeletal mass during this era is the root cause of the increased dietary requirements that are present at this stage (Brasel, 1982). Therefore, the teenager faces a series of significant dietary issues, which would have an influence not only on this rapid development spurt, but also on their health as adults. However, adolescents continue to be a demographic that is often ignored, difficult to assess, and challenging to communicate with. As a result, the requirements of adolescents, particularly adolescent girls, are frequently disregarded (Kurz and Johnson-Welch, 1994). At this embryonic stages, protein requirements maximum. Increased physical activity, when paired with bad eating habits and other factors such as menstruation, oral contraceptive usage, and pregnancy, lead to an accentuation of the possible risk of poor nutrition for teenagers (Nicklas, Johnson, Myers, Farris, Cunningham 2021).

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Poor nutritional choices and practices have been shown to increase during adolescence; the need for nutrition education becomes clear. It is important that health educators look into nutrition education and its impact on the dietary habits of adolescent females. Several studies have been conducted that show how nutrition education impacts the dietary habits of adolescents.

These studies have reviewed the effect of nutrition education on adolescent athletes and have analyzed how nutrition education impacts snack patterns.

The main nutritional problems affecting adolescent populations in particular include under-nutrition in terms of stunning and wasting. Others are deficiencies of micronutrients such as iron and vitamin a, obesity and other specific nutrient deficiencies (Kurz and Johnson-Welch, 1994).

 Adolescents because they are still growing, who enter into marriage with poor nutritional status are likely to give birth to smaller infants than mature women of the same nutritional status (WHO, 1995) because of the competition for nutrients between the growing adolescent and the growing fetus (Scholl et al, 1990) andpoorer placental function (Colson, 1987). Undernourished adolescent girls and women give birth to underweight and often stunned babies. These infants are less able to learn as young children and are more likely themselves to be parents to infants with intrauterine growth.

Retardation and low birth weight. However, they are less able to generate livelihoods and are less equipped to resist chronic diseases in later life. Such lifecycle and intergenerational links demand sustained, long term ameliorative action (ACC/SCN, 2000) which this study aims to provide.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1. To assess the impact of nutrition education on the nutritional intake of female secondary school students.

2. To educate adolescent girls about sources of nutrient and balance diet.

3. To help improve the eating habits of adolescent girls.

4. To serve as a guide to nutrition educators and dieticians

5. To recommend nutrition education as part of the curriculum of secondary school in Nigeria.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions guided this study:

1. What is the level of nutrition learnt in schools in Egor L.G.A. Edo state?

2. What are the eating habits of school children with 14 and 24 years in the selected schools?

3. Do school children between 14 and 24 years in selected schools adhere to recommendations regarding nutrition when selecting what to eat?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to outline the importance of nutrition education to improving the nutrient intake of adolescent girls. One particular group of interest is the adolescent female few studies have reviewed the impact of nutrition education on the dietary intakes of the average adolescent female. In the present study, the effect of a term long nutrition education class on the dietary habits of adolescent females in secondary schools in Benin City was examined. This study compared dietary intakes of female students who completed a nutrition education class to female students who did not. The findings in the present study are important in that they help nutrition educators and dietician understands if adolescent female who are provide with a one term time period will develop better eating habits than females who do not receive nutrition education.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study shall be restricted to secondary school in Egor L.G.A, Edo State of Nigeria only in the realization of similar condition facing female students in other states of Nigeria. The survey shall be on nutrient intake only of adolescent girls. Nutrition education lectures shall be held for the subjects and pamphlets and handouts shall be used to facilitate the lectures.

1.7 LIMITATION

The researcher was handicapped by both time and finances. The time was too short for a study of this magnitude. Also the non-availability of finance to enable the researcher move around was another limitation.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The work has been divided into five chapters. Chapter one which is an introductory chapter also considers the methodology of the study, while chapter two reviews related literature. In chapter three, the method of data collection and analysis is discussed. Chapter four which presents and analyses the secondary and primary data also discusses research findings. Chapter five which is a concluding one focuses on the summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Operational Definitions

Balanced diet: Is the food which has mixed food from all groups of food which has all nutrients needed for the body and must be eaten a more than two times per day.

schools: Is a place where people of different ages gain education including elementary schools and Universities.

Food: Is a composition of nutrients in the form that can be eaten and ultimately utilized by the body to provide the consumer with good health status.

Health: Is the state of being free from illness or injury.

Healthy: In good health, not diseased, Implies full strength and vigour as well as freedom from signs of disease.

Malnutrition: is a state of poor nutritional status, which is the result of inadequate  or excess intake of nutrients by the body. Also can be defined as; all forms of poor nutrition, it relate to imbalances in energy and specific macro and micronutrients as well as in dietary patterns.

Nutrition: Is the end results of various process in society which end when food is eaten, followed by subsequent absorption and utilization of food nutrients by the body to provide health.

Nutrition Education: Is the process by which people gain knowledge, attitude and skills necessary for developing appropriate dietary habit.