Peer-reviewed article
School Feeding Program and Health Outcomes Among School-Aged Children: Evidence From Rural China.
Lei Wang, Siqi Zhang, Xiaowei Hao, Andrew Peng, Andrew Rule et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001China's school feeding program, launched in 2012, was evaluated for its impact on child health in rural areas. Between 2015 and 2022/2023, hemoglobin levels improved, anemia rates fell from 17% to 6%, and stunting decreased from 9% to 1%. The improvements were linked to increased dietary diversity and greater consumption of iron-rich foods among students. Sustained funding for the program appeared to be essential for achieving these health gains.
Key points
- Hemoglobin levels increased from 126 to 131 g/L over the study period
- Anemia rates decreased from 17% to 6% following the school feeding program
- Stunting rates fell from 9% to 1%
- Increased dietary diversity and consumption of iron-rich foods were identified as main contributing factors
- Rising funding allotted to the program over time was associated with improved outcomes
Limitations
The study uses cross-sectional survey data from two time points rather than a randomised design, so causality cannot be definitively established. The analysis does not compare the school feeding program group to a control group of children not receiving the program.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: High rates of iron-deficiency anemia among school-age children have been a common issue in developing countries. In 2012, China rolled out a school feeding program (SFP) to address this issue. This study assesses changes in anemia rates, as well as potential factors driving these changes, both 3 and 10 years after the SFP was implemented. METHODS: Data were from two cross-sectional surveys (n = 1510) in northwestern China. T-tests were used to compare the differences in health outcomes of students and their dietary diversity across the different sample years. Regressions were used to examine the associations between health outcomes and dietary diversity. RESULTS: After the SFP was launched, hemoglobin levels of students improved from 126 to 131 g/L between 2015 and 2022/2023; the rates of anemia and stunting decreased from 17% to 6% and 9% to 1%, respectively. A rise in student dietary diversity and an increase in the share of students that consumed iron-rich foods are two main contributing factors. IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY: Increase in funding allotted to the SFP over time appears to be a key element in improving the health and nutrition of rural students. CONCLUSIONS: SFP in rural China exemplifies the concrete advantages in improving the health and potential educational outcomes of students.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- School feeding program providing meals to students
- Population
- School-aged children in rural northwestern China (n = 1510)
Key finding
Hemoglobin levels improved from 126 to 131 g/L
Wang et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 1 Mar 2026