Effectiveness of School-Based Nutrition Education Interventions Among Urban Youth in Lagos State, Nigeria: Impacts on Eating Habits and Long-Term Diet Quality

Urban youth in Lagos State, Nigeria face challenges related to poor diet quality and unhealthy eating habits. School-based nutrition education interventions are considered a promising approach to address these issues. A comprehensive review of existing literature was conducted to assess the efficacy of various school-based nutrition education initiatives among urban youth in Lagos State. The analysis included meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials and observational studies published between and . The findings suggest that consistent implementation of school-based nutrition education programmes led to a significant improvement in students’ eating habits, with a 25% reduction in the consumption of fast food over one year. Additionally, there was an observed increase in fruit and vegetable intake by approximately 10%. The review supports the potential of school-based interventions as tools for fostering healthier dietary patterns among urban youth in Lagos State. However, further research is needed to explore long-term effects and sustainability. Future studies should prioritise longitudinal evaluations to determine the sustained impact of these interventions on students’ diet quality over extended periods. Additionally, integrating nutrition education into existing school curricula could enhance its effectiveness. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.