School meals consumption is associated with a better diet quality of Brazilian adolescents: results from the PeNSE 2015 survey

More than 21.5% of adolescents reported high consumption of school meals from the National School Feeding Program.

• High consumption of school meals is directly associated with improved overall diet quality.
• There is a strong positive association between high school meal consumption and healthy food intake.
• High school meal consumption is inversely associated with the intake of unhealthy foods.
• The findings suggest that these meals may support healthier eating habits among adolescents.

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