School-based healthy eating interventions for adolescents aged 10-19 years: an umbrella review

The benefits of healthy eating are well known, yet adolescent diet is often poor. School based interventions offer a promising option to promote healthy eating, however, evidence is unclear.

This umbrella review synthesised the current evidence on school-based interventions for healthy eating in adolescents (10-19 years old).

Using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) umbrella review guidelines, a systematic search was conducted on 11 electronic databases (PubMed, CINHAL, EMBASE, Science Direct, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Scopus, ERIC, Web of Science, Cochrane Register of Systemic Review and JBI Evidence Synthesis) to identify reviews published between January 2000 and December 2023. Methodological quality was assessed using JBI critical appraisal tool. A narrative synthesis was conducted informed by the World Health Organisation's Health Promoting School (HPS) framework that categorises school-based interventions into three components i.e., health education, school environment changes, and family and community involvement.

Seventeen reviews were identified (including 347 unique primary studies) that were published between 2008 and 2023. 87% of the reviews were based on interventions in high- income countries, limiting applicability to low- and middle-income countries. Fourteen reviews were rated as high, two as moderate, and one was rated as low methodological quality. Evidence from 71% of the reviews (n = 14 reviews, 13 = high methodological quality) found that multi-component interventions (i.e., interventions incorporating more than two components of the HPS framework) improved adolescents' knowledge and behaviour concerning healthy eating. At the individual level, tech-driven healthy eating curricula effectively improved eating behaviours of adolescents. These individual-level interventions proved to be more effective and sustainable when supported by system-level changes, such as modifying school environments including increased availability of healthy foods and involving parents to promote healthy eating for adolescents. However, limited evidence from only three reviews suggests mixed feasibility for technology-based interventions and lower feasibility for multi-component interventions. The lack of information on stakeholder involvement in intervention design is another critical evidence gap.

School-based multi-component healthy eating interventions that combine individual-level interventions with system-level changes are effective in promoting healthy eating behaviours among adolescents. Future reviews should assess the effectiveness of participatory approaches in intervention design, feasibility and scale-up studies, and analysing evidence from low- and middle-income countries.