Food for thought? The effects of the Healthy Primary School of the Future on children’s educational outcomes

Abstract

Background There is limited empirical evidence regarding the effects of school-based health-promoting interventions on educational outcomes, highlighting a need for further research in this area to understand their broader impact on academic performance. The Healthy Primary School of the Future (HPSF) is a Dutch intervention aimed at improving children’s health by providing healthy school lunches and structured physical activity (PA) sessions. While HPSF’s positive impact on physical health has been well-documented, its effects on academic outcomes, particularly in mathematics and reading comprehension, remain less understood. This study evaluated the influence of HPSF on children’s performance by using national standardised tests for these academic domains. Methods A longitudinal quasi-experimental design was employed involving eight Dutch primary schools over a four-year period. Schools included two full HPSF schools (implementing both PA and healthy lunches), two partial HPSF schools (PA only), and four control schools (all in the same region). Scores from biannually taken national standardised tests in mathematics and reading comprehension were combined within the same year to decrease the number of missing values. The data were analysed using mixed model for repeated measures to assess the intervention effects over time. Results Children in full HPSF schools demonstrated significant improvements in mathematics performance compared to control schools (standardised effect size (ES) = 0.30, p = 0.011 after one year, increasing to ES = 0.66, p < 0.001 after four years). Mathematics gains in partial HPSF schools were smaller and non-significant (ES ≤ 0.23, p ≥ 0.137). For reading comprehension, small but significant improvement was observed in year 1 for full HPSF schools compared with control schools (ES = 0.28, p < 0.001), but this effect was diminished by year 4. Partial HPSF schools showed sustained small gains in reading comprehension over time (ES between 0.06 and 0.39). Conclusions The HPSF intervention significantly enhanced mathematics performance when both healthy lunches and PA sessions were implemented, underlining the importance of a holistic approach to health promotion in schools. However, the intervention’s impact on reading comprehension was limited, indicating the need for additional and/or more targeted strategies to improve literacy outcomes. These findings highlight the potential of integrated health interventions to boost academic performance and address both health and educational inequities.