This page provides a sample of articles and reports related to BMI screening and reporting in schools.
The Fit Study results
Abstract of study in JAMA Pediatrics
Summary of study results: Research Brief, November 2020
News articles
Martha Stoddard. Nebraska schools to gather more health data on students. Kearney Hub; June 26, 2014.
Mary Pflum. 'Fat letters' worry students, parents, and experts. ABC News; September 3, 2013.
Julie Deardorff. BMI measuring in schools proves a weighty issue. The Chicago Tribune; May 17, 2013.
Tracy Miller. Massachusetts mulls doing away with 'fat letters' that report schoolkids' BMI to parents. Daily News; September 26, 2013.
Charlie Boss. BMI record-keeping no longer weighs on schools. The Columbus Dispatch; September 14, 2012.
Scientific journal articles and reports
Madsen KA, Linchey J, Ritchie L, and Thompson H. The Fit Study: Design and rationale for a cluster randomized school-bsed BMI screening and reporting. Contemprary Clinical Trials; 2017
Thompson H and Madsen KA. The Report Card on BMI Report Cards. Current Obesity Report; 2017.
Almond D, Lee A, and Schwartz AE. Impacts of classifying New York City students as overweight. PNAS; 2016.
Li W, et al. Declining Trends and Widening Disparities in Overweight and Obesity Prevalance Among Massachusetts Public School Districts. Am J of Public Health; 2016.
Thompson H, Linchey J, and Madsen KA. Critical Elements of a School Report to Parents on Body Mass Index. Preventing Chronic Disease Clinical Trials; 2015.
Gee KA. School-Based Body Mass Index Screening and Parental Notification in Late Adolescence: Evidence From Arkansas’s Act 1220. J Adolescent Health; 2015.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Addressing Weight Status Measurement in Schools. 2014.
Flaherty M. "Fat Letters" in public schools: public health versus pride. Pediatrics; 2013.
Madsen KA and Linchey J. School-based BMI and body composition screening and parent notification in California: Methods and Messages. Journal of School Health; 2012.
Linchey J and Madsen KA. State requirements and recommendations for school-based screenings for body mass index or body composition, 2010. Preventing Chronic Disease; 2011.
Madsen KA. School-based body mass index screening and parent notification: A statewide natural experiment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine; 2011.
Thompson JW and Card-Higginson P. Arkansas’ experience: statewide surveillance and parental information on the child obesity epidemic.ritical Elements of a School Report to Parents on Body Mass Index. Pediatrics; 2009.
Nihiser AJ et. al. Body mass index measurement in schools. Journal of School Health; 2007.
Johnson A, and Ziolkowski GA. School-Based Body Mass Index Screening Program. Nutrition Today; 2006.