Role of Nutrition Education in Improving Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of School-Going Adolescents Regarding Healthy Eating: A Pilot Study
Nutrition Education and Healthy Eating Practices in Adolescents
Keywords:
Adolescent, Attitudes, Diet, Education, Health, Knowledge, Practice, SchoolsAbstract
Background: Adolescents become vulnerable to malnutrition due to growth spurts and various environmental and social factors. This makes nutritional knowledge crucial for them to influence their dietary habits which would ensure their nutrient needs by improving their attitude and practices. For this purpose, schools are considered primary targets for implementing education programs that would enhance knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition education intervention on students’ KAP while also developing structured and evidence-based nutrition education materials for school-going adolescents regarding healthy eating practices.
Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test study was conducted among 33 school-going adolescents, aged 09-12 years, studying in grade 4 and 5. This sample was selected through convenience sampling technique. Over the period of 2 months. Students received nutrition education through 4 lectures (1 lesson/week) and educational leaflets in group sessions lasting for 45-50 minutes. Normality of pre-post differences was assessed using Shapiro-Wilk test. Paired t-test or Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used to analyze changes in KAP and Healthy Eating Index scores, as appropriate. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A highly significant improvement in the total KAP score (p=0.00) and the Healthy Eating Index score (p=0.00) were observed. Knowledge score also showed a highly significant improvement (p=0.00), suggesting enhanced understanding among the students. However, no statistically significant changes were observed in the attitude and practice score (p>0.05).
Conclusion: This study concludes that nutrition education intervention was effective in increasing nutritional knowledge and healthy eating habits among school-going adolescents. These findings emphasize on the importance of a structured nutritional education intervention program that would improve knowledge, attitude and practices of adolescents, thereby promoting healthy dietary habits in the cohort.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59564/amrj/04.04/007
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Copyright (c) 2026 Naaima Abid Warris, Summaiya Jannat Jalal, Aniqa Maqbool, Lyba Gull, Alia Rauf Ahmed
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