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April 17, 2026Health Science Reports0 citationsOpen Access

National Policies for Improving Micronutrient Intake in School Meals: A Global Cross‐Sectional Study

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NSNi Putu Wulan Purnama SariAMAdrino MazendaMKMichael Kemboi

Key Points

  • The study aims to evaluate national policies affecting micronutrient supplementation in school meals.
  • Employed the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework for analysis.
  • Analyzed data from 126 government representatives from various countries.
  • Estimated effects of national policy domains on micronutrient supplementation.
  • School feeding policies had a small positive effect on micronutrient supplementation (β = 0.12).
  • Nutrition policies showed a slight negative association with implementation (β = -0.12).
  • Other policies related to health, food safety, and agriculture had minimal influence.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Malnutrition, including overnutrition, undernutrition, and micronutrient deficiency, remains a major global public health challenge, closely linked to food insecurity. Among children, micronutrient deficiencies can impair cognitive development, making effective national policies vital to guide in‐school micronutrient supplementation within school meal programs. This study aimed to assess how national policies on school feeding, nutrition, health, food safety, agriculture, and private sector engagement influence the implementation of micronutrient supplementation in school meal programs across countries. Methods The study employed the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework, which combines the Granular Interaction Thinking Theory with Bayesian inference techniques. A dataset comprising responses from 126 government representatives ( n = 126) responsible for large‐scale school meal programs across 126 countries was analyzed to estimate the effects of various national policy domains on micronutrient supplementation outcomes. Results Findings revealed that school feeding policies have a small but positive effect on the implementation of micronutrient supplementation ( β = 0.12, SD = 0.10). In contrast, nutrition policies exhibit a slight negative association ( β = −0.12, SD = 0.10). Other policies, including those related to health, food safety, agriculture, and the private sector, demonstrated minimal or negligible influence. Conclusions The study underscores the positive contribution of school feeding policies in promoting micronutrient supplementation within school meal programs. However, the negative association of nutrition policies suggests the need for critical policy reassessment to ensure coherence and effectiveness. Strengthening cross‐sectoral linkages, particularly among health, food safety, agriculture, and private sector policies, may further enhance micronutrient intake and improve child health outcomes globally.

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Cite This Study

Sari et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69e1ce895cdc762e9d857910https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.72362
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