Abstract
Purpose of Review
Half of states in the USA have legislation requiring that schools conduct body mass index (BMI) screening among students; just under half of these states report results to parents. The effectiveness of school-based BMI screening and reporting in reducing childhood obesity is not established and the practice has raised concerns about the potential for increased weight-based stigmatization.
Recent Findings
Recent experimental studies of BMI screening and reporting have not demonstrated a positive impact on students’ weight status. However, the language and formatting of BMI reports used in studies to date have been suboptimal and have likely limited the potential effectiveness of the practice.
Summary
This article reviews the recent literature on school-based BMI screening and reporting and highlights important areas for future inquiry. The present review suggests that evidence to date is not sufficient to support definitive conclusions about the value of school-based BMI screening and reporting as a childhood obesity prevention tool.
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References
Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
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Acknowledgements
The authors are supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant R01HL120666.
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Hannah R. Thompson and Kristine A. Madsen declare they have no conflict of interest.
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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Obesity Prevention
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Thompson, H.R., Madsen, K.A. The Report Card on BMI Report Cards. Curr Obes Rep 6, 163–167 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-017-0259-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-017-0259-6