Effect of school-based body mass index reporting in California public schools: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

This study was funded by NIH/NHLBI R01HD074759. The funder had no role in any of the following activities: design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Kristine Madsen had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Kristine Madsen and Shalika Gupta conducted all analyses contained in this manuscript. Nancy Fang Liu, BA, Benjamin King, MPP, and Ana Ibarra-Castro, BA, contributed substantial efforts on data collection and data entry while working as paid Research Assistants on this study at the

Weight Measurements in School: Setting and Student Comfort

“…Thus, the students whom BMI assessments are intended to help-those with an elevated weight status-are precisely those who tended to experience discomfort with the process. This raises concerns for weight stigmatization, as research suggests that weighing students at school leads to decreased weight satisfaction, 9 and adolescents with the overweight report being teased more than those with average weight. 19,20 In addition, our findings demonstrate that female students experienced greater discomfort being weighed than male students.…”

“…In the 3-year Fit Study 8,9 (from 2014À2015 to 2016À2017), we cluster randomized 79 schools in 5 California school districts (1 in northern California, 1 in central California, and 3 in southern California) to 1 out of 3 study arms: 1) BMI screening and reporting (27 schools); 2) BMI screening only (27 schools); or 3) no BMI screening (25 schools). 8 Students enrolled in participating schools in grades 3−7 during the fall of 2014 and 2015 were eligible for the study.…”

Recent trends in overweight and obesity in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years across 21 countries

“…Pooled prevalence was found to be high and showed a significant upward trend over the survey years, indicating that it may be necessary to reconsider the effectiveness of current policies and programs aimed at curbing overweight and obesity among adolescents 31 . For example, parents receive their children's BMI report when it is measured, which is a widely applied effort to reduce childhood overweight and obesity 31,32 . However, evidence shows that this effort has no effect in reducing paediatric overweight and obesity 31,32 .…”

“…For example, parents receive their children's BMI report when it is measured, which is a widely applied effort to reduce childhood overweight and obesity 31,32 . However, evidence shows that this effort has no effect in reducing paediatric overweight and obesity 31,32 . Evidence‐based interventions should be prioritized.…”

Weight-Based Disparities in Youth Mental Health: Scope, Social Underpinnings, and Policy Implications

“…However, programs emphasizing weight loss are more commonly utilized in school settings than evidence-based programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity, despite their potential to reinforce and strengthen weight stigma (Kenney et al, 2017). For example, although associated with decreased weight satisfaction and increased peer weight talk (Madsen et al, 2021), weight assessment and monitoring practices are widespread in schools. Indeed, half of all U.S. states have legislation requiring schools to monitor student BMI (Ruggieri & Bass, 2015).…”