0000000000923953
AUTHOR
Kristine Engebretsen Illøkken
Free school meals as an opportunity to target social equality, healthy eating, and school functioning: experiences from students and teachers in Norway
Background There are no national arrangements for free school meals provision in Norway despite this being an important opportunity to improve children's and adolescents' nutritional status and ultimately their physical and cognitive development. During a one academic year (2014-2015), a group of Norwegian sixth graders were served a free healthy school meal in a project called 'The School Meal Project'. Objective To explore students' and teachers' experiences of receiving free school meals after the free school meal in 2015 and 5 years later. Design In-depth, semi-structured interviews with separate groups in 2015 and in 2020 were conducted face to face or via telephone or digital platform…
Possible Effects of a Free School Meal on School Environment: The School Meal Intervention in Norway
Evidence suggests that a free school meal can improve children and adolescent diet, social environment, concentration, and school performance. This study aimed to investigate possible effects of a free, healthy school meal among students that usually eat packed meals on behavioral issues, inactiveness, self-efficacy, school enjoyment and classroom environment. A school meal according to the dietary guidelines was served to students in the intervention group (n=55) for one year. A control group consumed packed meals as usual (n=109). Students (10-12 years) responded to a questionnaire at baseline and after one year. We used linear regression analyses and did not find significant effects of a…
Breakfast and school lunch as pathways for enhancing educational outcomes and promoting public health
Health and education are closely linked. Healthy students are suggested to be better learners (3). Healthy behaviors, including healthy diets, physical activity, and sufficient sleep, might provide optimal conditions for adolescents’ brain development and learning (4). The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of having breakfast (at home) and providing free school lunches in students’ educational outcomes. The thesis also sought to assess the contributions of these meals to public health promotion. Its focus is adolescents (for the school setting, the term “students” is used). Adolescence is a period in life in which youth go through important developmental phases in their…
Intervention study on school meal habits in Norwegian 10-12-year-old children.
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a free school meal every day was associated with children’s intake of healthy food during school. Methods: A non-randomized study design with an intervention and a control group was used to measure change in children’s meal habits at lunchtime. In total, 164 children participated; 55 in the intervention group and 109 in the control group. Children in the intervention group were served a free, healthy school meal every school day. Participating children completed a questionnaire at baseline and at 6 months’ follow up. Possible associations were evaluated with a healthy food score, which was calculated based on a food frequency questionna…
Effects of a free school meal on lunch habitsin Norwegian elementary school children The School Meal Project in Aust-Agder.
Masteroppgave folkehelsevitenskap- Universitetet i Agder, 2015 Norway has no national arrangement for a free served school meal. This has led to mainly two concerns: that many children may attend school without eating a healthy meal throughout the school day, and that many children may skip their lunch. The aim of this study was to investigate if a free healthy school meal had impacts on children’s intake of different foods during the lunch, and thereby contribute to a healthier diet at school. The School Meal Project is an intervention and has a quasi-experimental study design- with an intervention and a control group. A total of 55 (96%) children in the intervention group and 109 (67%) ch…