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In order to ensure the implementation of the relevant clauses of the "Action Plan of the Ministry of Health for the implementation of the Strategy for 2015-2020 on the fight against non-infectious diseases in the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by the order No. 16 of the Ministry of Health dated 07.03.2016, the survey was carried out by the Public Health and Reforms Center (PHRC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

In 2016, the " Survey on dietary habits of school-age children" conducted by PHRC allowed to clarify the following issues:

• special dietary arrangements at school,

• availability and technical capabilities of school cafeterias or canteens,

• the variety of meals and foods sold or served at the school,

• comprehensiveness of the internal guidelines on the organization of school meals.

The results of the survey are intended to be used in the following two directions. First, the results of the survey conducted in 2016 will establish a baseline and allow comparison with the results of similar surveys conducted in the future. Second, the results of the survey can be used to formulate school- and national-level guidelines or policies for the healthy eating of school-age children. This means that future similar studies will also allow to assess the implementation status of these guidelines or policies.

The Working Group organized for conducting the survey consisted of employees of PHRC, as well as specialists of the Ministry of Education and Azerbaijan Medical University. As a result of the discussions held within the Working Group, it was agreed that the survey should be conducted as an interview between the interviewer and the student, between the interviewer and the parent, and between the interviewer and the teacher.

The survey was conducted in November-December 2016 in 25 full high schools and school communities operating in Baku city and 7 selected districts of the Republic. As the selected districts represent all administrative regions, the results obtained regarding the nutrition of school-aged children can be applied to the entire country. Surveys were conducted both in central schools of the city or district, and in rural schools. This was required to identify differences between large and small, urban and rural schools

While selecting the schools, the number of students of the schools operating in that district and the fact that the schools are Russian and Azerbaijan-speaking were also taken into account. Taking into account that each school has at least two 2-11 grades, 25 full secondary schools were systematically selected to participate in the survey from the list of all city-districts schools.

By selecting 8 students from each class in each school, the number of students who will participate in the school survey is determined to be 80 people. 2004 students from a total of 25 schools participated in the survey.

A study conducted in 2016 showed that almost all Azerbaijani schoolchildren benefit from home-brought meals at school and from school cafeterias or canteens every day. The choice of meals taken at school can either have a negative impact on their health, or can contribute to improving health while having a positive impact on the formation of healthy dietary habits.