Author(s)

Nobuko Murayama¹, Mieko Magami², Salima Akter³, Israt Ara Hossain⁴, Liaquat Ali⁴, Mahmud Hossain Faruquee⁵, Sk Akhtar Ahmad⁵

¹Department of Health and Nutrition, University of Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan.
²General Incorporated Association, Fair Trade Roshun, Tokyo, Japan.
³Department of Medical Biotechnology, Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁴Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁵Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, University of Health Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Background: Growth retardation is a challenge in Bangladesh. School feeding programs with fortified biscuits have been evaluated in Bangladesh. However, the impacts of a school meal program using local foods on the growth and nutritional status of children have not been investigated. Objective: To determine whether a school meal program (SMP) using local foods with soybean could improve children’s growth and micronutrient status in rural Bangladesh. Methods: Two primary schools were randomly assigned as intervention (SMP; n = 200) and control (non-SMP; n = 200) schools. Children in the intervention school were supplied a school meal with local foods including soybean, containing more than one-third of the recommended daily allowance of energy and nutrients, 5 days/week for 8 months. The attendance rate and school lunch consumption of the children were monitored. Baseline and final anthropometry, hemoglobin and micronutrient status were assessed. Results: There were no significant differences in anthropometric measurements at baseline between the intervention and control groups, but there were differences in the prevalence of anemia, vitamin A deficiency and zinc deficiency. After the intervention, children in the SMP school showed a larger degree of improvement in the height-for-age Z-score (P < 0.001), red blood cell count (P = 0.001) and hemoglobin concentration (P < 0.001) than children in the non-SMP school. However, there were no positive effects on the body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z-score, serum ferritin, serum retinol or serum zinc status among children in the SMP school. Conclusion: A school meal program using local foods with soybean improved the height velocity and hemoglobin concentration of children in rural Bangladesh.

School Meal Program, Local Food, Child Growth, Anemia, Bangladesh

Murayama, N. , Magami, M. , Akter, S. , Hossain, I. , Ali, L. , Faruquee, M. and Ahmad, S. (2018) A Pilot School Meal Program Using Local Foods with Soybean in Rural Bangladesh: Effects on the Nutritional Status of Children. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9, 290-313. doi: 10.4236/fns.2018.94023.