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Table 4 Nutritional and health outcomes associated with comprehensive food subsidy programs for children

From: Food subsidy programs and the health and nutritional status of disadvantaged families in high income countries: a systematic review

First Author, Year Intervention, Participants

Nutritional outcomes

Health outcomes

Gunnell 2000[39]

 

Growth outcomes*

Intervention included either daily school feeding (SF) or family food packages weekly (FP) and two control groups with no food subsidy- families and school students

 

Mean, (SD)

I

C

p

  

Height increase, cm

6.10(1.50)

5.56(1.45)

<0.0001

  

Leg length increase, cm

4.98 (2.07)

4.87(2.25)

0.0006

  

Trunk increase, cm

1.12 (2.17)

0.69 (2.23)

0.17

  

Stature increases by method of feeding,†

Children aged 2–14 years

 

Mean (95%CI)

SF

FP

  

Change in height (I-C), mm

6.7 (2.7-10.6)

2.0 (−0.7-4.8)

  

Change in leg length (I-C),mm

7.2 (1.9-12.4)

2.3 (−1.5-6.2)

  

Mortality

  

Hazard ratio I vs C (95%CI)

p

  

All causes

1.15 (0.7,1.7)

0.46

  

CHD

1.62 (0.8,3.5)

0.21

  

Cancer

0.69 (0.4,1.4)

0.30

  

Non-smoking

  

related cancer

0.59 (0.2,2.0)

0.59

  1. * Adjusted for initial anthropometry and location.
  2. †Adjusted for initial anthropometry, location, age, sex, duration of follow-up, household food expenditure, diet intake, family size, social class.