Plant-based food packages linked to lower BMI in children: Study

According to a new study by researchers at the Mass General Brigham Hospital system, a “food is medicine” approach could improve families' nutrition security while lowering children’s body mass index (BMI). Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital investigator studied whether offering weekly plant-based foods to families requesting food assistance during the pandemic caused weight changes in children.
The team found an association between increased food package receipt and decreased BMI. The findings, published in Preventing Chronic Disease, add to a growing body of evidence that providing plant-based foods could be a useful strategy to prevent childhood obesity in children from food-insecure families.
“It's important to encourage healthy eating habits during childhood to help prevent co-morbidities associated with obesity later in life, but many families to do not have access to expensive healthy foods, such as produce,” said senior author Lauren Fiechtner, MD, MPH, Director of the Pediatric Nutrition Center at Mass General for Children and Health and Research Advisor at The Greater Boston Food Bank. "Food pantries like MGH Revere that can provide families with healthy foods are a huge help in making sure that kids have a long, healthy future and have the best cardiovascular and metabolic health possible from a young age.”
"Children in families with food insecurity are frequently skipping meals or skipping food for a whole day because their family does not have enough money for food," said Fiechtner. "One way for parents to stretch a tight food budget and make sure their children are at least eating something is to buy the cheapest foods available, which are often not nutritious and contribute to obesity and other health problems.”
The researchers examined BMI during a baseline period prior to receiving food packages and then during a follow-up period using the Mass General Brigham electronic health record. At the start of the study, 57% of children aged 2-18 had a BMI at or above the 85th percentile. At follow-up, this number was reduced to 49%. The researchers also saw a decrease in BMI with each additional food family package received and estimated that children in households who received 27 weeks or more of packages may have had a BMI decrease of 1.08 kg/m2 or more.