Impact of School-Based Nutrition Education Programmes on Adolescent Diet Quality in Rural South Africa,

Adolescents in rural South Africa face nutritional challenges due to limited access to diverse food sources and inadequate dietary education. A systematic review employing electronic databases such as PubMed and Cochrane Library was conducted. Studies published between and were screened for relevance to the study objectives. The review identified multiple studies where school-based nutrition education programmes led to a significant improvement in dietary diversity among adolescents, with at least a 10% increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. School-based nutrition education programmes appear effective in enhancing adolescent diet quality in rural South Africa. Further research should focus on the long-term sustainability of these programmes and their impact on broader socio-economic factors affecting food access. The empirical specification follows $Y=\beta_0+\beta^\top X+\varepsilon$, and inference is reported with uncertainty-aware statistical criteria.