{"doi":"10.1530/ey.18.15.5","title":"Effect of school-based body mass index reporting in California public schools: a randomized clinical trial","abstract":"ImportanceAnnually, US schools screen millions of students' body mass index (BMI) and report the results to parents, with little experimental evidence on potential benefits and harms.ObjectiveTo determine the impact of school-based BMI reporting on weight status and adverse outcomes (weight stigmatization and weight-related perceptions and behaviors) among a diverse student population.Design, setting, and participantsCluster randomized clinical trial. The Fit Study (2014-2017) randomized 79 California schools to BMI screening and reporting (group 1), BMI screening only (group 2), or control (no BMI screening or reporting [group 3]) in grades 3 to 8. The setting was California elementary and middle schools. Students in grades 3 to 7 at baseline participated for up to 3 years. A modified intent-to-treat protocol was used. Data analysis was conducted from April 13, 2017, to March 26, 2020.InterventionsSchool staff assessed BMI each spring among students in groups 1 and 2. Parents of students in group 1 were sent a BMI report each fall for up to 2 years.Main outcomes and measuresChanges in BMI z score and in adverse outcomes (based on surveys conducted each fall among students in grades 4 to 8) from baseline to 1 and 2 years of follow-up.ResultsA total of 28 641 students (14 645 [51.1%] male) in grades 3 to 7 at baseline participated in the study for up to 3 years. Among 6534 of 16 622 students with a baseline BMI in the 85th percentile or higher (39.3%), BMI reporting had no effect on BMI z score change (-0.003; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.01 at 1 year and 0.01; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.03 at 2 years). Weight dissatisfaction increased more among students having BMI screened at school (8694 students in groups 1 and 2) than among control participants (5674 students in group 3). Results of the effect of BMI reporting on other adverse outcomes were mixed: compared with the control (group 3), among students weighed at school (groups 1 and 2), weight satisfaction declined more after 2 years (-0.11; 95% CI, -0.18 to -0.05), and peer weight talk increased more after 1 year (0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.09); however, concerning weight control behaviors declined more after 1 year (-0.06; 95% CI, -0.10 to -0.02).Conclusions and relevanceBody mass index reports alone do not improve children's weight status and may decrease weight satisfaction. To improve student health, schools should consider investing resources in evidence-based interventions.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02088086.","journal":"Yearbook of pediatric endocrinology","year":2021,"id":201610,"datarank":0.31191623125197543,"base_score":2.0794415416798357,"endowment":2.0794415416798357,"self_citation_contribution":0.31191623125197543,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.31191623125197543,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":7,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9589,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2021-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":780470,"name":"Hannah R. Thompson","orcid":"0000-0003-0214-5003","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":781066,"name":"Jennifer Linchey","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":350486,"name":"Lorrene D. Ritchie","orcid":"0000-0002-8038-1821","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":781067,"name":"Shalika Gupta","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":291928,"name":"Dianne Neumark‐Sztainer","orcid":"0000-0001-9435-1669","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":781068,"name":"Patricia B. Crawford","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":19019,"name":"Charles E. McCulloch","orcid":"0000-0002-1279-6179","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":781069,"name":"Ana Ibarra-Castro","orcid":null,"position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":382465,"name":"Kristine A. Madsen","orcid":"0000-0002-1880-5363","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":40,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:50:56.394488Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}