Findings for children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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WEDNESDAY, June 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Providing plant-based family food packages could be a useful strategy to improve body mass index (BMI) among children requiring food assistance, according to a study published online June 22 in Preventing Chronic Disease<\/em>.<\/p>\n Allison J. Wu, M.D., M.P.H., from Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues examined the association between receipt of plant-based family food packages from the Massachusetts General Hospital Revere Food Pantry and change in BMI among 35 children (aged 2 to 18 years) between January 2021 and February 2022.<\/p>\n The researchers found that children aged 2 to 18 years experienced a 0.31 kg\/m2<\/sup> change in age- and sex-adjusted BMI over a mean 19 months of follow-up. At baseline, 57 percent of children were classified as having overweight or obesity versus 49 percent of children at follow-up. For each additional package received, there was an associated change in BMI of \u00e2\u0088\u00920.04 kg\/m2<\/sup> from baseline to follow-up, independent of age, sex, and duration.<\/p>\n “The results of our case study suggest that providing plant-based family food packages could be a useful strategy to prevent, and potentially reverse, BMI increases among children requiring food assistance,” the authors write. “Food pantry packages should be considered in conjunction with other healthy-weight interventions for children.”<\/p>\n