BMI Screening and Reporting in Schools: The Fit Study

NCT02088086 | Completed DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 2012-07-4472R01HL120666
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 36,452
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Fit Study is a three-year, cluster-randomized controlled trial that will evaluate the impact of school-based body mass index (BMI) screening and reporting on child health. Seventy-nine California schools will be randomized to one of three groups: 1) BMI screening and reporting, 2) BMI screening, and 3) no BMI screening or reporting (control). Investigators will assess the impact of BMI reporting on students' BMI trajectories over three years. Investigators will also assess the impact of BMI screening on weight-based teasing, feelings of stigmatization, and weight-control behaviors among students.

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity; Overweight

Keywords

Pediatric obesity; Overweight; Body mass index; Primary schools; Secondary schools

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in body mass index (BMI) z-score

  Investigators will assess change in BMI z-score over 3 years between students in Group 1 (BMI screening + reporting) and students in Group 2 (BMI screening only). Primary analyses will be limited to students who were overweight (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) at baseline (Spring 2015). Investigators will also compare change in BMI z-score over 3 years between Group 1 students whose parents received the BMI-only report and Group 1 students whose parents received the BMI + fitness report. In both sets of analyses, ethnicity will be used as an effect modifier.

  Up to 2 years

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in weight-control behaviors

  Up to 2 years

• Change in weight-based teasing

  Up to 2 years

• Change in body satisfaction

  Up to 2 years

Study Arms (3)

BMI screening and reporting (Group 1)

EXPERIMENTAL

For three school years, 3rd-8th grade students will have their heights and weights measured once annually. Additionally, 5th-8th grade students will participate in five fitness assessments. Schools will send BMI reports home to parents.

Behavioral: BMI screening; Behavioral: BMI reporting; Behavioral: Fitness testing

BMI screening only (Group 2)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

For three school years, 3rd-8th grade students will have their heights and weights measured once annually. Additionally, 5th-8th grade students will participate in five fitness assessments. Schools will NOT send BMI reports home to parents.

Behavioral: BMI screening; Behavioral: Fitness testing

No BMI screening or reporting (Group 3)

NO INTERVENTION

For two school years, 3rd-8th grade students will NOT have their heights and weights measured at school.

Interventions

BMI screening BEHAVIORAL

Students in grades 3-8 will have their heights and weights measured annually at school and their BMIs calculated.

BMI screening and reporting (Group 1); BMI screening only (Group 2)

BMI reporting BEHAVIORAL

Schools will send a report home to parents that provides their child's height, weight, and BMI results.

BMI screening and reporting (Group 1)

Fitness testing BEHAVIORAL

Students in grades 5-8 will participate in five fitness assessments (curl-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, sit-and-reach, and the PACER test or mile run) annually at school.

BMI screening and reporting (Group 1); BMI screening only (Group 2)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 7 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• District does not report BMI results to caregivers and has no history of doing so
• District has at least eight schools that meet all of the school-level eligibility criteria
• School does not report BMI results to caregivers and has no history of doing so
• School has an enrollment of 15% to 85% Latino students
• School has an enrollment of at least 30 students in grades 3 through 8

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Berkeley: lead
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Berkeley, California, 94720, United States

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Madsen KA, Thompson HR, Linchey J, Ritchie LD, Gupta S, Neumark-Sztainer D, Crawford PB, McCulloch CE, Ibarra-Castro A. Effect of School-Based Body Mass Index Reporting in California Public Schools: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2021 Mar 1;175(3):251-259. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.4768.

  PMID: 33196797 DERIVED

• Thompson HR, Linchey JK, Liu NF, Madsen KA. Parents Recall of, and Reactions to, School-Based BMI Reports. Child Obes. 2019 Dec;15(8):548-554. doi: 10.1089/chi.2019.0061. Epub 2019 Aug 12.

  PMID: 31403338 DERIVED

• Thompson HR, Linchey JK, King B, Himes JH, Madsen KA. Accuracy of School Staff-Measured Height and Weight Used for Body Mass Index Screening and Reporting. J Sch Health. 2019 Aug;89(8):629-635. doi: 10.1111/josh.12788. Epub 2019 May 28.

  PMID: 31140199 DERIVED

• Madsen KA, Linchey J, Ritchie L, Thompson HR. The Fit Study: Design and rationale for a cluster randomized trial of school-based BMI screening and reporting. Contemp Clin Trials. 2017 Jul;58:40-46. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2017.05.005. Epub 2017 May 4.

  PMID: 28479218 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity; Overweight

Interventions

Exercise Test

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Obesity; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Heart Function Tests; Diagnostic Techniques, Cardiovascular; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Respiratory Function Tests; Diagnostic Techniques, Respiratory System; Ergometry; Investigative Techniques

Study Officials

• Kristine A Madsen, MD MPH

  University of California, Berkeley

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 7, 2014
• First Posted: March 14, 2014
• Study Start: March 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: June 15, 2017
• Study Completion: July 15, 2017
• Last Updated: November 4, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-11

Locations

US (1)