Healthy communication strategy: social media and food literacy in Nigeria
Ogbonnaya Ukeh Oteh, Ambrose Ogbonna Oloveze, Ivory Eme Okorie · Food Culture & Society · 2025
Food literacy plays a critical role in shaping public health. While significant investments have been made by governments and agencies in addressing food-related challenges, evidence shows widespread malnutrition deficiencies in many communities due to poor communication strategy. This present study examines the nexus between social media as a modern communication tool and food literacy, focusing on its influence on food choices in Nigeria. By employing a descriptive survey design with a sample of 90 respondents from Abia state of Nigeria, the study provides insight of a strong preference for social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp for food information. It expanded the conversation around social media impact on consumer food choice especially in rural communities of Africa. Our result revealed that a unit change in the quality of information will result in 2.02% improvement in food decisions. However, as more people leverage online space, the spread of fake information and misinformation becomes a challenge hence there is need for potential strategies to ensure accurate information reaches rural populations. Therefore, companies should design campaigns and messages and push them through reliable people. The adoption of celebrity endorsement by online food brands can be impactful to consumers in modeling food behavior.