ArticleBMC nutrition2026
The impact of Ka Ora, Ka Ako, New Zealand's free, healthy school lunch program on children's health and wellbeing.
Article in BMC nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Advancing equitable and sustainable school-based nutrition interventions.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSince 2020, New Zealand’s free, healthy lunch program, Ka Ora, Ka Ako, has been implemented in qualifying schools from high-deprivation areas. The aim of this study was to measure its impact on student health and wellbeing.
methodsA quasi-experimental study compared health and wellbeing outcomes for Year 5 and Year 9 students in Hawke’s Bay in participating versus non-participating schools using surveys of eating behaviours, food insecurity, wellbeing (WHO-5 questionnaire), and body size (anthropometry) in 2020 and 2023.
resultsCompared to students from 14 non-Ka Ora, Ka Ako schools (n = 741/690), students from 13 Ka Ora, Ka Ako schools (n = 447/399 2020/2023) had: generally lower vegetable and fruit consumption at baseline, but non-significant increases in any vegetables (p = 0.149) and any fruit (p = 0.09) over time; higher unhealthy food consumption at baseline which significantly improved over time (p = 0.04); higher food insecurity with no significant change over time; no difference at baseline or change in quality of life scores; substantially higher overweight/obesity prevalence at baseline (66.7% versus 38.0%), and no changes over time (62.0% versus 37.4% at follow up, p = 0.157).
conclusionsKa Ora, Ka Ako has resulted in improvements in eating patterns, but longer duration is needed to determine the impact on overweight/obesity.
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