Knowledge and Attitude towards Healthy Eating Practices among Senior Secondary School Students in Ibadan South East Local Government Area, Ibadan

Healthy eating is essential for optimal growth, development, and the prevention of chronic diseases in adolescents. It involves consuming a well-balanced diet that provides essential nutrients while limiting the intake of unhealthy foods. Nutrition related health challenges have become a public health concern in many nations of the world. It accounted for approximately 3.1 billion globally with 27 million in Sub-Saharan Africa 1. In Nigeria, prevalence of malnutrition at various phases accounted for 7.0%, 5.5% and 1.5% respectively There is need to stem the tide among the teeming population of young children. . Therefore, this study is set to investigate knowledge and attitude towards healthy eating practices among secondary school students in Ibadan South East Local Government Area, Ibadan, Oyo state. Descriptive survey research of correlation type design was used. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 313 respondents; while questionnaire was used for data collection. The descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentage (%), mean and standard deviation was used for the demographic data and research questions, while inferential statistics of Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was used to test the stated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that the knowledge (mean=1.73), attitude (mean=2.43) was positive, while personal hygiene practice was good (mean=2.48). all the hypotheses in this study were accepted. There was no significant relationship between knowledge and attitude towards healthy eating practices among Senior Secondary School Students in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, Ibadan.(r=0.026, p>0.05). There was no significant difference in knowledge of healthy eating practices among Senior Secondary School Students in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, Ibadan based on gender. (t=0.561, df =311, p>0.05). there was no gender difference in attitude towards healthy eating practices among Senior Secondary School Students in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, Ibadan based on gender (t=-1.688, df=311, p>0.05). it was thereby recommended that the Ministries of Health and Education in Oyo State should ensure that periodic medical outreach is organized for Senior Secondary School Students on knowledge of healthy eating practice, specifically in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area. This is to ensure that such students have better understanding of healthy eating practice.