title: Outcomes of The BODY Project: A Program to Halt Obesity and Its Medical Consequences in High School Students.
abstract: Adolescent obesity continues to be a major public health issue with a third of American adolescents being overweight or obese. Excess weight is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and pre-diabetes. High school students identified as carrying excess weight [body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m(2), or BMI percentile ≥85 %] were invited to participate in The BODY Project, an intervention that included a medical evaluation and a personalized medical report of the results of that evaluation sent to the parent/guardian at home. The medical evaluation and report was repeated 12 months later. The reports also contained advice on how the individual student could modify their lifestyle to improve the specific medical parameters showing abnormalities. Outcomes were change in BMI, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fasting glucose, and fasting insulin. Students participating in The BODY Project intervention demonstrated modest, yet significant, reductions in BMI (p < 0.001) 1 year later, and also had significant improvements in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) and cholesterol profile (HDL p = 0.002; LDL p < 0.001) at follow-up. The BODY Project, by means of a minimal educational program anchored on the principle of teachable moments around the students' increased perception of their own risk for disease from the medical abnormalities uncovered, demonstrates evidence of potential effectiveness in addressing adolescent obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sweat
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bruzzese
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fierman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mangone
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.|Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.|Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laska
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. antonio.@med.nyu.edu.|Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. antonio.@med.nyu.edu.|Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. antonio.@med.nyu.edu.|Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA. antonio.@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Convit
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000628:therapy*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: Adolescents; Cardiovascular disease; Diabetes; Obesity