Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32894122›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2020

Effect of a free healthy school meal on fruit, vegetables and unhealthy snacks intake in Norwegian 10- to 12-year-old children.

Frøydis N Vik, Kaia E P Heslien, Wendy Van Lippevelde, Nina C Øverby

Open access · goldAbstract readControlled Clinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Frøydis N VikDepartment of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Post-box 422, N-4604, Kristiansand, Norway. froydis.n.vik@uia.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7324-0070
Kaia E P HeslienDepartment of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Post-box 422, N-4604, Kristiansand, Norway.
Wendy Van LippeveldeDepartment of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Post-box 422, N-4604, Kristiansand, Norway.
Nina C ØverbyDepartment of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Post-box 422, N-4604, Kristiansand, Norway.
University of Agder · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNorwegian children have a lower intake of fruit, vegetables, and a higher intake of unhealthy snacks compared to dietary guidelines. Such dietary inadequacies may be detrimental for their current and future health. Schools are favorable settings to establish healthy eating practices. Still, no school meal arrangement is provided in Norway, and most children typically bring packed lunches from home. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serving a free healthy school meal for one year resulted in a higher intake of fruit and vegetables and a lower intake of unhealthy snacks in total among 10-12-year-olds in Norway.

methodsThe School Meal Project in Southern Norway was a non-randomized trial in two elementary schools in rural areas in the school year 2014/2015. The study sample consisted of 10- to 12-year-old children; an intervention group (N = 55) and a control group (N = 109) resulting in a total of 164 school children at baseline. A food frequency questionnaire was completed by the children at baseline, at five months follow-up and after one year to assess fruit, vegetable, and snacks intake. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess intervention effects on overall intake of fruit and vegetables and unhealthy snacks.

resultsServing of a free healthy school meal for one year was associated with a higher weekly intake of vegetables on sandwiches in the intervention group compared to the control group, adjusted for baseline intake (B: 1.11 (95% CI: .38, 1.85)) at the end of the intervention. No other significant intervention effects were found for the remaining fruit and vegetables measures. Serving of a free healthy school meal was not associated with a lower weekly intake of unhealthy snacks (i.e. potato chips, candy, sugar sweetened beverages) in the intervention group compared to the control group.

conclusionsA free healthy school meal was associated with a higher weekly intake of vegetables on sandwiches but did not significantly change any other investigated dietary behaviors. However, given the inadequate intake of vegetables among children and that even moderate improvements have public health relevance, a free healthy school meal for all school children could be beneficial.

trial registrationISRCTN61703361 . Date of registration: December 3rd, 2018. Retrospectively registered.

Indexed as

MealsSchoolsChildDiet, HealthyDiet SurveysFemaleFruitHumansMaleNorwayNutritional StatusNutrition PolicySnacksVegetablesChildrenFree school mealFruitInterventionNorwayUnhealthy snacksVegetables

Identifiers

PMID32894122
PMCPMC7487881
OpenAlexW3083961007

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.