The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment
The Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) policy was introduced in September 2014 in England and January 2015 in Scotland and offered all infant schoolchildren (ages 4–7 years) a free school lunch, regardless of income. Yet, impacts of UIFSM on dietary intakes or social inequalities are not know...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1602 |
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| author | Jennie C. Parnham Kiara Chang Christopher Millett Anthony A. Laverty Stephanie von Hinke Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard Frank de Vocht Martin White Eszter P. Vamos |
| author_facet | Jennie C. Parnham Kiara Chang Christopher Millett Anthony A. Laverty Stephanie von Hinke Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard Frank de Vocht Martin White Eszter P. Vamos |
| author_sort | Jennie C. Parnham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) policy was introduced in September 2014 in England and January 2015 in Scotland and offered all infant schoolchildren (ages 4–7 years) a free school lunch, regardless of income. Yet, impacts of UIFSM on dietary intakes or social inequalities are not known. A difference-in-differences study using the National Diet and Nutrition Survey assessed pooled pre-UIFSM (2010–2014) and post-UIFSM (2014–2017) dietary data. English or Scottish infant schoolchildren (4–7 years; n = 458) were the intervention group, with junior schoolchildren (8–11 years; n = 401) as controls. We found that implementation of UIFSM led to an increase in infant schoolchildren having a school meal. Impacts on key food groups such as fruit and vegetables or sweetened beverages were not seen. However, there was evidence that the UIFSM policy lowered consumption of foods associated with packed lunches, such as crisps, and some nutrients, such as total fat and sodium. Policy impacts differed by income group, with larger effect sizes in low-income children. In conclusion, evaluation of UIFSM demonstrated some improvements in dietary quality but the findings suggest school meal quality needs to be improved to fully realise the benefits of UIFSM. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:19:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a125f093a8a4907850872629a2a1a6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:19:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a125f093a8a4907850872629a2a1a6b2023-12-03T13:48:15ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432022-04-01148160210.3390/nu14081602The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural ExperimentJennie C. Parnham0Kiara Chang1Christopher Millett2Anthony A. Laverty3Stephanie von Hinke4Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard5Frank de Vocht6Martin White7Eszter P. Vamos8Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UKPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UKPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UKPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UKErasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UKPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UKPublic Health Policy Evaluation Unit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UKThe Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) policy was introduced in September 2014 in England and January 2015 in Scotland and offered all infant schoolchildren (ages 4–7 years) a free school lunch, regardless of income. Yet, impacts of UIFSM on dietary intakes or social inequalities are not known. A difference-in-differences study using the National Diet and Nutrition Survey assessed pooled pre-UIFSM (2010–2014) and post-UIFSM (2014–2017) dietary data. English or Scottish infant schoolchildren (4–7 years; n = 458) were the intervention group, with junior schoolchildren (8–11 years; n = 401) as controls. We found that implementation of UIFSM led to an increase in infant schoolchildren having a school meal. Impacts on key food groups such as fruit and vegetables or sweetened beverages were not seen. However, there was evidence that the UIFSM policy lowered consumption of foods associated with packed lunches, such as crisps, and some nutrients, such as total fat and sodium. Policy impacts differed by income group, with larger effect sizes in low-income children. In conclusion, evaluation of UIFSM demonstrated some improvements in dietary quality but the findings suggest school meal quality needs to be improved to fully realise the benefits of UIFSM.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1602school lunchnutritionchildrenuniversal free school mealspolicy evaluation |
| spellingShingle | Jennie C. Parnham Kiara Chang Christopher Millett Anthony A. Laverty Stephanie von Hinke Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard Frank de Vocht Martin White Eszter P. Vamos The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment Nutrients school lunch nutrition children universal free school meals policy evaluation |
| title | The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment |
| title_full | The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment |
| title_short | The Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal Policy on Dietary Quality in English and Scottish Primary School Children: Evaluation of a Natural Experiment |
| title_sort | impact of the universal infant free school meal policy on dietary quality in english and scottish primary school children evaluation of a natural experiment |
| topic | school lunch nutrition children universal free school meals policy evaluation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1602 |
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