April 11, 2024 — Two decades ago, the state of Arkansas became the first in the nation to require every school to send parents BMI report cards – also known as fat letters. Back then, in 2003, the obesity rate for children in Arkansas was 17%. Since then, obesity in Arkansas public school students has risen dramatically. In the […]
October 10, 2023 — “The findings have important implications for future intervention research in terms of the effectiveness of intervention components and characteristics … It is important that policy makers continue to recognise the school setting as a vehicle for tackling childhood obesity.” These conclusions from a systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness for school-based interventions in child obesity […]
August 15, 2023 — Can a simple program to promote drinking water prevent obesity in elementary schools? Well, no. But a new study in Pediatrics does tell us that promotion of drinking water can indeed prevent weight gain in elementary school students. Many well-intended childhood obesity programs have a nil effect. So it’s delightful to point to a well-controlled […]
April 8, 2016 — In a finding that should surprise absolutely no one, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS) showed that “fat letters” sent home from school had little discernable effect. In New York City, they euphemistically call these letters – which notify parents if their child has excess weight or obesity […]
