Intervention study on school meal habits in Norwegian 10–12-year-old children

Illøkken, Kristine Engebretsen; Bere, Elling; Øverby, Nina Cecilie; Høiland, Renate; Petersson, Kirsten O.; Vik, Frøydis Nordgård

doi:10.1177/1403494817704108

Cited by 12 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This present study is part of the School Meal Project in Southern Norway [17] which had a non-randomized design with one intervention group and one control group. The baseline data was collected in August/September 2014, and follow-up data was collected in January 2015 and in June 2015.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A healthy, cold school meal free of charge was served every school day for 1 year to the children in sixth grade at one elementary school in Southern Norway. The intervention has previously been described by Illokken et al [17], and was based on the current national dietary guidelines in Norway and consisted of whole-grain bread, healthy spread and fruit and vegetables (FV). Some children drank milk and the others were encouraged to drink water.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Free school meals as an approach to reduce health inequalities among 10–12- year-old Norwegian children

2019

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Background Children spend a considerable amount of time at school and consume at least one meal/day. This study aimed to investigate if a free, healthy school meal every day for one school year was associated with children’s intake of healthy foods at school, weight status and moderating effects of socio-economic status. Methods A non-randomized study design with an intervention and a control group was used to measure change in children’s dietary habits at lunchtime. In total, 164 children participated; 55 in the intervention group and 109 in the control group (baseline). Intervention-children were served a free, healthy school meal every school day for one year. Participating children completed a food frequency questionnaire at baseline, at five months follow-up and after one year. Children’s anthropometrics were measured at all three timepoints. Intervention effects on children’s Healthy food score, BMI z-scores, and waist circumference were examined by conducting a Repeated Measures Multivariate ANOVA. Moderating effects of children’s gender and parental socio-economic status were investigated for each outcome. Results A significant intervention effect on children’s outcomes (multivariate) between baseline and after one year ( F = 2.409, p < 0.001), and between follow-up 1 at five months and after one year ( F = 8.209, p < 0.001) compared to the control group was found. The Univariate analyses showed a greater increase in the Healthy food score of the intervention group between baseline and follow-up 1 ( F = 4.184, p = 0.043) and follow-up 2 ( F = 10.941, p = 0.001) compared to the control group. The intervention-children had a significant increase in BMI z-scores between baseline and follow-up 2 ( F = 10.007, p = 0,002) and between follow-up 1 and 2 ( F = 22.245, p < 0.001) compared to a decrease in the control-children. The intervention-children with lower socio-economic status had a significantly higher increase in Healthy food score between baseline and follow-up 2 than the control-children with lower socio-economic status (difference of 2.8 versus 0.94), but not among children with higher socio-economic status. Conclusions Serving a free school meal for one year increased children’s intake of healthy foods, especially among children with lower socio-economic status. This study may contribute to promoting healthy eating and suggests a way forward to reduce health inequalities among school children. Trial registration ISRCTN61703361 . Date of registration: December 3rd, 2018. Retrospectively registered.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free school meals as an approach to reduce health inequalities among 10–12- year-old Norwegian children

2019

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“…This study is a part of the School Meal Project [20]. A quasi-experimental non-randomized controlled school-based study was conducted in the southern part of Norway between 2014 and 2015, and an increased intake of healthy food at lunchtime among the children in the intervention group compared with the control group after 6 months has previously been reported [20]. The study was carried out among 5th, 6th and 7th grade school children, aged 10–12 years, from two different primary schools in a rural area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A free, healthy school meal was served to all children in the intervention group every day from August 2014 until June 2015. The meal was prepared in accordance with current Norwegian dietary guidelines and consisted of wholegrain bread (at least 50% wholegrain) with a variety of healthy spread, and fruits and vegetables on the side [20]. The food was served on different trays, and the children helped themselves to the food they preferred.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The School Meal Project was initiated by a local cook, who prepared and served the healthy school meal every day. The intervention school was therefore chosen based on convenience to make it feasible [20]. The school that served as a control school was chosen because it was equivalent to the intervention school in three ways: county, type of location (rural area) and school size.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Possible effects of a free, healthy school meal on overall meal frequency among 10–12-year-olds in Norway: the School Meal Project

et al. 2019

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Objective To evaluate possible effects of intake of a free, healthy school meal on overall meal frequency among 10–12-year-olds in Norway. This was evaluated using a quasi-experimental school-based intervention study assessing children’s meal frequency retrospectively using a questionnaire in two elementary schools in the southern part of Norway in 2014/15. Multiple logistic regression analyses with breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper as dependent variables were used. Results A total of 164 children at baseline; 55 children in the intervention group and 109 children in the control group were included. The serving of a free school meal every day for 1 year did not improve the overall meal frequency in the intervention group compared to the control group. However, children in the intervention group had a lower odds of eating breakfast during weekends compared to the control group in crude analyses [odds ratio (OR) = 0.28 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09–0.84)] and in adjusted analyses [adjusted for baseline values, gender and socio-economic status) (OR = 0.15 (95% CI 0.03–0.72)]. Studies including larger study samples and therefore more statistical power are needed to further investigate possible effects of school meals on meal frequency. Trial registration ISRCTN61703361, Date of registration: December 3rd, 2018, Retrospectively registered

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Developing School Health Promotion Through Research: An Example of a Participatory Action Research Project

Sormunen

2022

Global Handbook of Health Promotion Research, Vol. 1

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Intervention study on school meal habits in Norwegian 10–12-year-old children

Abstract: A serving of a free school meal every day for 6 months increased children's intake of healthy food at lunchtime compared with the control group. Further studies are needed to establish possible long-term effects.

Cited by 12 publications

References 22 publications

Free school meals as an approach to reduce health inequalities among 10–12- year-old Norwegian children

Free school meals as an approach to reduce health inequalities among 10–12- year-old Norwegian children

Possible effects of a free, healthy school meal on overall meal frequency among 10–12-year-olds in Norway: the School Meal Project

Developing School Health Promotion Through Research: An Example of a Participatory Action Research Project

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