Strengthening Nutrition in Schools in Europe and Central Asia
Assessment of school nutrition environments in the Republic of Moldova
Highlights
The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases associated with unhealthy diets represents a major challenge for public health at global and national levels. The Republic of Moldova faces a double nutritional burden, 20% of 7-year-old children are overweight and 7% obese (WHO COSI 2024).
The present study aimed to assess the nutritional environment in 43 educational institutions (17 early childhood education institutions and 26 primary schools) from the Republic of Moldova, using the Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S) developed by UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and Deakin University (Australia), focused on four domains: nutritious foods, healthy food and physical activity environments, nutrition services, and nutrition education. A nationally representative sample size of 729 respondents was selected from 26 primary schools, specifically 9-10-year-old students, 4th-grade in the 2025–2026 academic year to assess the attitudes and perceptions of schoolchildren regarding nutritional food and conditions for physical activity environment.
The results of this study in the Republic of Moldova demonstrate that nutrition education is on the agenda of public authorities, being addressed in policy documents and present in the curricula in the majority (over 90%) of educational institutions, but the study emphasizes the need for an integrated and multisectoral public policy approach to strengthen the school nutritional environment in the Republic of Moldova.
