Turkey’s doctors call free school meals a health necessity, not a perk

Doctors warn that iron deficiency, vitamin shortages and obesity are already harming children’s health and learning, while poor diets could increase their risk of chronic disease in adulthood.

Child nutrition is emerging as a pressing public health concern in Turkey, with doctors warning that inadequate diets are already affecting children’s day-to-day health and could shape disease risk well into adulthood. Dr Ceren Kineşci, a family medicine specialist and board member of the Istanbul Medical Chamber, said that the most common signs of poor nutrition in children include iron deficiency, vitamin shortages, slowed height growth, stunting and childhood obesity. She argued that a free meal in schools is no longer optional, but necessary if children are to learn on a full stomach and avoid deeper health problems later in life.

Speaking to ANKA, Kineşci said family doctors follow children from birth and monitor growth and development closely during the first two years, then at least once a year after that. In that work, she said, iron deficiency is seen often, with many children needing supplements. Vitamin deficiencies also appear regularly. She linked these problems to diets that rely heavily on cheap, processed foods, sugary products and refined carbohydrates rather than protein-rich meals.

Kineşci warned that the effects go beyond basic hunger. Poor nutrition, she said, can weaken the immune system, leaving children more vulnerable to common infections, allergies and other illnesses. She also pointed to attention problems and a weaker sense of belonging at school, saying that children who come to class without proper meals are less able to focus and may feel less connected to the school environment. In her view, hunger and poor diet can undermine both learning and health at the same time.

Her concerns are backed by medical research showing that obesity and iron deficiency can overlap in children and adolescents, and that iron deficiency may be overlooked in children with excess weight. Studies published in Anadolu Klinik and the Turkish Archives of Pediatrics have found links between obesity and iron-related problems, reinforcing the wider warning that malnutrition is not limited to underweight children.

Kineşci also stressed that childhood diet can have lasting consequences. She said stunting, obesity and impaired bone development may lay the groundwork for chronic illness in later years. That includes diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, which remain among the leading causes of death in Turkey. According to the reports, she said the strongest protection for children is simple: proper food, enough sleep and regular movement outdoors. In Bağcılar’s Perşembe Market, residents interviewed by ANKA broadly supported the idea of a free school meal, saying it would help families struggling with high living costs and give all children a fairer start.