ABSTRACT

This study explores how health belief determinants impact the automatic food selection behaviors of adolescents in public secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving 220 adolescents from purposely selected public secondary schools across rural and urban local government areas in Abia State. A validated questionnaire was used in data collection which assessed the identification of healthy and unhealthy foods, socio-demographic characteristics, and health belief determinants. Automatic food selection was assessed by displaying the selected foods for this study (okpa, soft drink, cucumber, puff-puff, orange, and popcorn) in a carton in an empty classroom where students took turns selecting two foods of their choice which were identified as food selection 1 and food selection II. IBM SPSS Statistics (version 20) was used for data analysis. The respondents comprised 61.4% of students from rural locations and 38.6% of students from urban locations. 52.3% were male while 47.7 were female. Majority (73.6%) of the students were aged 13-16 years; Above average (57.7%) had 4-6 siblings, and 60.9% lived with both parents. Fathers primarily worked in civil service (19.1%); mothers were mainly traders (33.2%). 30% of fathers and 33.6% of mothers had secondary education; 20% of fathers and 25.5% of mothers had tertiary education. 31.1% of urban students and 53.5% of rural students identified healthy foods correctly while 18.5% of urban and 38.5% of rural students identified unhealthy foods. 5% of urban students and 18.6% of rural students consistently selected healthy foods for the two selection options. 40.5% of students selected unhealthy foods in both selections. There is a positive correlation (r=0.19, p<0.01) between age and perceived benefits and a negative correlation (r=−0.17, p<0.01) exists between cues to action and perceived benefits. This study revealed a significant negative correlation (r = −0.16, p < 0.05) between male gender and the perceived severity. The study also found that adolescents who perceive themselves as more susceptible to eating unhealthy foods have a significantly lower ability to identify healthy options (r=-0.18, p<0.01). Furthermore, an increased perception of the severity of health issues negatively correlates with a reduced ability to identify healthy foods (r=-0.18, p<0.01). The findings of this study emphasize more attention to targeted interventions such as improved nutrition education in both rural and urban areas to elevate nutrition knowledge and encourage healthier food choices.