Combination of a healthy school lunch and more physical activity leads to better mathematics performance

For the study by Van Engelen and colleagues, eight primary schools in Limburg were followed for four years:

·       Two schools implemented the full GBT programme: a healthy lunch and structured physical activity programmes.

·       Two schools implemented only the physical activity programmes from the GBT programme.

·       Four schools served as the control group.

The researchers examined outcomes for both mathematics performance and reading comprehension.

Outcomes

Full programme:

-            Mathematics performance was clearly better after just one year. The effect increased further over the course of the four years.

-            For reading comprehension, there was only a small but clear improvement in the first year. This effect disappeared over the course of the four years.

Physical activity programmes only:

-            A smaller, non-significant improvement in mathematics.

-            Small improvements in reading comprehension over the course of the four years.

Authors’ recommendations

-            To achieve an effect on mathematics, primary schools need to provide both a healthy school lunch and more physical activity.

-            The combination is not sufficient to improve reading comprehension. Additional or more targeted interventions are needed for this.

Source: Article by NVTG, 2 September 2026. Author Maayke Veraart.