Increase in body mass index from normal weight to overweight in a cross-sectional sample of healthy research volunteers.

Current literature provides limited information about healthy volunteers serving as controls for biomedical research. This study describes trends in body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height (kilograms per square meter), of the population of healthy volunteers at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIH CC) and compares these trends to a nationally representative sample, as reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We hypothesized that BMI trends at the NIH CC would follow those of the US population.

The Massachusetts BMI letter: a qualitative study of responses from parents of obese children.

Objectives: Massachusetts (MA) public schools conduct mandated body-mass index (BMI) screening and until recently, communicated results in a letter to parents/caregivers, to encourage primary care visits and provide aggregate data to the state Department of Public Health. This study assessed the letter's readability and qualitatively explored parents' responses to it.

Methods: Readability of the BMI letter was calculated.