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

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