Work

School food interventions and their impact on child nutrition in Europe: a scoping review

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Background School food interventions help improve child nutrition. Evidence in Europe up to 2020 was scarce and inconclusive. This scoping review aimed to update and synthesize evidence on the impact of school food interventions on nutritional status among children and adolescents (0-19 years) in Europe, and to identify barriers, facilitators, and theoretical frameworks. Methods We followed PRISMA guidelines for this scoping review. We developed the search strategy by identifying keywords, synonyms, and indexing terms in PubMed. We searched for original articles published in English or Spanish between January 2020 and February 2025 using controlled and free language in PubMed and Scopus. We organized the articles in Zotero and screened them with Rayyan. Two researchers independently reviewed titles and abstracts. After resolving discrepancies, they reviewed the full texts. They also designed and piloted a data extraction table for consistency. One researcher extracted the data. We registered the protocol in Open Science Framework (OSF.IO/T8KXV). Results We yielded 454 articles. After removing 19 duplicates, we screened 435 articles by title and abstract. We excluded 379 for not meeting the eligibility criteria. Of the 56 full texts reviewed, we excluded 25 due to study design, population studied, or outcomes evaluated. We included 31 original studies, mainly from the Netherlands (n = 8), Poland (n = 4), and Italy (n = 4). Most used quasi-experimental (n = 13), or experimental (n = 10) designs, and multi-component interventions - including nutrition education, practical workshops, and food provision. Only two assessed food availability in canteens. Twenty-two studies reported positive effects on eating habits. However, the impact on overweight/obesity was mixed (n = 9). Conclusions School food interventions promote healthy eating habits in European children and adolescents. However, their impact on weight status remains inconsistent. Key messages • This review highlights the need for further research on the impact of school food interventions on childhood obesity. • Multi-component interventions show positive effects on eating habits but require more evidence on long-term weight outcomes.

Source: European Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaf161.1379

Authors: I Vidal, M Franco, P Domínguez, N Cohen, J Díez

Institutions: Universidad de Alcalá, University of the Basque Country, Basque Centre for Climate Change, City University of New York

Language: English

Topic: Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Zero hunger, Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,181