Educational and Programmatic Components of Effective School-Based Food and Nutrition Education: An Umbrella Review

Objective: To identify and synthesize the educational and programmatic components most consistently associated with effective school-based food and nutrition education (SBFNE) for children and adolescents. Design: An umbrella review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines. We systematically searched CLEO, EDUCAT+, PubMed, and Google Scholar through December 2022 for eligible literature reviews and meta-analyses. Included reviews were assessed for methodological quality and synthesized at the component level using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Setting: Reviews examined SBFNE interventions delivered primarily during regular school hours in primary and secondary education settings worldwide. Results: Forty-four literature reviews synthesizing evidence from 1,651 primary studies (1,115 unique) were included. Across reviews, 20 distinct educational and programmatic components were identified and standardized. Components most frequently reported and consistently associated with positive dietary behavior change included Family Engagement , Focused on Behavior Change , Multicomponent Approaches , and Integration into the School Curriculum . Other components—such as Cultural Inclusivity and Environmental Sustainability —were examined less frequently but were associated with positive dietary outcomes in the reviews that assessed them. Several components, including Peer Support , Technology-Based Engagement , and Community Engagement , demonstrated mixed or context-dependent effects, reflecting variability in implementation and study design. No component was consistently associated with adverse dietary outcomes. Conclusions: By shifting the analytic focus from individual interventions to cross-cutting components, this umbrella review clarifies which elements most consistently underpin effective SBFNE. The resulting component framework provides a practical, transferable foundation to inform program design, evaluation, and policy decision-making and to strengthen the equity, coherence, and effectiveness of SBFNE initiatives.