Universal School Meals and Associations with Student Participation, Attendance, Academic Performance, Diet Quality, Food Security, and Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT: The school environment plays an important role in children's diets and overall health, and policies for universal free school meals have the potential to contribute to positive child health outcomes. This systematic review evaluates studies examining the association between universal free school meals and students' school meal participation rates, diets, attendance, academic performance, and Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as school finances. The search was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A search for studies published in economically developed countries published through December 2020 was performed in PubMed, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, and Academic Search Ultima

SUBMITTER: Cohen JFW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8000006 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature