Impact of School Meal Program on Child Nutrition and Academic Performance

August 28, 2026 updated by: Qaisar Raza, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore - Pakistan

Impact of School Meal Program on Nutritional Status and Academic Performance Among Primary School Children: An Interventional Study

This study will assess the impact of a school meal program on the nutritional status and academic performance of primary school children in Lahore, Pakistan. Children aged 6-11 years from selected government primary schools will participate in the study. Children in the intervention group will receive a balanced school meal during school hours for 12 weeks, providing approximately one-third of their daily energy requirement, while children in the control group will continue their usual dietary practices. The study will compare changes in children's nutritional status, including weight, height, body mass index, mid-upper arm circumference, and body composition, as well as school attendance and examination performance. The study will also examine whether nutritional status is related to academic performance.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Childhood nutrition is an important determinant of physical growth, cognitive development, and academic performance. Poor nutrition may affect children's physical health, concentration, school participation, and learning. School meal program provide an opportunity to improve children's access to nutritious food during school hours; however, there is limited evidence from Pakistan on their effects on both nutritional status and academic performance.

This study will be conducted among primary school children aged 6-11 years enrolled in Grades 1-5 in selected government primary schools in peri-urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan. The selected schools will be characterized by food insecurity, low socioeconomic status, limited access to basic facilities, and educational vulnerability. The study will use a school-based pre-post intervention design with a control group and will be conducted over 12 weeks.

Children in the intervention group will receive a school meal designed to provide approximately one-third of the daily energy requirement for school-aged children. Children in the control group will continue their usual dietary practices and regular school routine without receiving the study meal. Daily records will be maintained to monitor meal distribution and consumption among children in the intervention group, with support from teachers and school staff.

Changes in nutritional status will be assessed before and after the 12-week intervention using anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, BMI-for-age, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Body composition will also be assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis to obtain indicators such as fat mass and muscle mass.

Educational outcomes will be assessed using school records, including school attendance and examination scores. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires will collect information on dietary intake, socioeconomic background, and general health to provide additional information for interpretation of the study findings.

The primary objective of the study is to assess the impact of the school meal program on the nutritional status and academic performance of primary school children in Lahore. The study will also examine the relationship between nutritional status and academic performance.

The findings are expected to provide locally relevant evidence regarding the potential contribution of school meal program to child nutrition and educational outcomes and may support evidence-based decision-making regarding school meal programs in Pakistan.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

496

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000
        • University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
        • Contact:
          • University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Food and Nutrition
          • Phone Number: +92-42-99211374
          • Email: webmaster@uvas.edu.pk

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children aged 6-11 years (Grades 1-5).
  • Children enrolled in the selected government primary schools.
  • Children present on the day of data collection.
  • Parental or guardian consent obtained.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children with chronic illness affecting growth.
  • Students absent during data collection.
  • Refusal of consent by parents or guardians.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: School Meal Intervention Group
Children receiving the school meal program daily for 12 weeks in addition to their usual school routine
Other: School Meal Program
A daily school meal will be provided to primary school children for 12 weeks as part of a school meal program. The meal is designed to provide approximately one-third of the children's daily energy requirements and will be provided during the school day.
No Intervention: Control Group
Children continuing their usual school routine without receiving the school meal program during the 12-week study period

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in body weight (kg)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in body weight from baseline to 12 weeks among children participating in the school meal intervention compared with the control group. Body weight will be measured in kilograms using standardized anthropometric procedures.
Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in body mass index (BMI, kg/m²)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in body mass index from baseline to 12 weeks among children participating in the school meal intervention compared with the control group. BMI will be calculated from measured weight and height.
Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in mid-upper arm circumference
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in Dietary Diversity Score (0-10)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Dietary diversity will be assessed based on the number of food groups consumed during the previous 24 hours. The score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater dietary diversity. Scores of 0-3 indicate low dietary diversity, 4-5 indicate moderate dietary diversity, and >5 indicate high dietary diversity. Change from baseline to post-intervention will be reported as the difference in dietary diversity score.
Baseline to 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in fat mass (kg)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in skeletal muscle mass (kg)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in school attendance rate (%)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Baseline to 12 weeks
Number of participants reporting acute illness episodes
Time Frame: During the 12-week intervention
Acute illness reported by participants/parents during the specified recall period. The number and percentage of participants reporting illness will be compared between baseline and post-intervention.
During the 12-week intervention
Change in academic test score (%)
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 weeks
Academic performance will be assessed using the study-specific curriculum-based test. Change from baseline to post-intervention will be reported as the difference in test scores.
Baseline to 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore - Pakistan

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 25, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 2, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 455/IRC/BMR

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared because the study involves data from children, and sharing individual-level data may pose privacy and confidentiality risks.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe