Free Summer Programming and Body Mass Index Among Schoolchildren From Low-Income Households: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Children experience accelerated gains in body mass index (BMI) during the summer months when school is not in session. Children from low-income households are most susceptible. Accelerated BMI gain in summer may be due to the removal of the health-promoting structure provided by schools. During summer, a common form of health-promoting structure is summer day camps (SDCs). Summer day camps are predominately fee for service, which creates a financial barrier for children from low-income households. One solution to mitigate accelerated BMI gain is providing free access to an existing SDC.

Objective

To investigate whether providing free access to an existing community SDC can mitigate accelerated BMI z score (zBMI) gain in elementary school-age children.

Design, s

SUBMITTER: Beets MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11581742 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature