Body mass index (BMI)

Boston Children’s Hospital has a number of ongoing research projects and clinical trials examining the role of BMI and health.

Bash III: Beverages and Societal Health Study

BASH III (Beverages and Societal Health Study) is recruiting healthy young adults (ages 18 to 35) for a 12-month study that investigates the effects of sweetened beverage consumption on weight and cardiovascular disease risk.

For more information, call 617-355-2500 or visit the BASH website.

Research shows new genetic variants linked with BMI

Researcher Joel Hirschhorn, MD, PhD, of Boston Children’s Divisions of Genetics and Endocrinology, has led an international consortium in the discovery of six new genetic variants linked with body mass index. Most of the variants are active in the brain, suggesting that differences in appetite regulation may play a role in obesity.

This study analyzed data from 90,000 people, and the consortium is performing even larger-scale studies to identify additional genetic variants—with the hope that at least one will lead to an effective treatment.

Development of the SonneWheel

The SonneWheel is a tool invented at Boston Children’s that lets clinicians combine BMI with your child's age and gender to easily estimate her BMI percentile. When her weight and height are lined up on the wheel, the window displays the corresponding BMI. The other side of the wheel allows them to find patients’ Risk Rating. This makes it easier to determine if your child is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.