Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
+32 25889658
ISSN: 2155-9600
+32 25889658
Tamiru Yazew
Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Salale University, Fitche, Ethiopia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nutr Food Sci
Globally, adolescent students, particularly girls, are severely affected by malnutrition, in part because of their specific biological needs, and that they have not been considered a health and nutrition priority. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of a health belief model–based nutrition education on the dietary diversity and grades of adolescent school girls in the north Shewa zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. A quasi-experimental study was done in the north Shewa zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Adolescent school girls ages 10 to 19 y old were selected from the zone districts from February 1 to May 30, 2023. The main outcome variables included grades and dietary diversity, which were collected on the baseline and end line from the intervention and control groups. This study revealed that there were statistically significant differences in good nutritional knowledge, 88.1% versus 69.2% (χ2 = 16.835, P < 0.001), good dietary diversity; 77.4% versus 45.9% (χ2 = 33.247, P < 0.001) and grades above average, 90.6% versus 65.4% (χ2 = 29, P < 0.001) among school adolescent girls between the intervention and control groups, respectively. Regarding positive attitude, 84.3% versus 85.5% (χ2 = 0.098, P = 0.876), there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups. In this study, the dietary diversity scores and grades of adolescent school girls in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group. Therefore, health belief model-based strategies should be recommended as effective communication channels to improve adolescent school girls' dietary diversity and academic performance.
Tamiru Yazew is a researcher in the Department of Public Health at the College of Health Sciences, Salale University, in Fitche, Ethiopia. His research focuses on adolescent nutrition, particularly among schoolgirls in low-resource settings. Tamiru's recent study evaluated the effect of health belief model-based nutrition education on dietary diversity and academic achievement among adolescent girls in the North Shoa Zone, Oromia. His findings highlight the significant improvements in nutritional knowledge, dietary diversity, and academic performance in the intervention group compared to the control group, suggesting the effectiveness of targeted nutrition education programs in enhancing both health and academic outcomes for adolescent girls.