BU Researchers: Curbing Sugary Drinks Helps Shift Children’s BMI

Childhood obesity remains historically high, affecting nearly 1 in 5 school-age children across the United States. While adult obesity rates appear to be slowing, broad lifestyle interventions asking children to change diet, exercise, and sleep habits simultaneously have proven difficult to sustain.

Targeting Sugary Drinks in Community Settings

A randomized trial published in JAMA Network Open and led by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health found that focusing on a single dietary change offers a more feasible reduction path. The study examined children participating in a community-based intervention designed to curb the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Sugar-sweetened beverages include regular sodas, fruit-flavored drinks, sports drinks, and energy drinks. These products represent the largest source of added sugars in children’s diets. Because liquid calories fail to trigger feelings of fullness, they easily drive excess daily calorie intake, elevating risks for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dental decay.

Evaluating the H2GO! After-School Trial

Researchers evaluated an intervention dubbed H2GO! across Boys & Girls Club sites in Massachusetts. Trained club staff led 12 in-person group sessions with 437 children aged 8 to 13 alongside a parent or caregiver. The program used interactive educational sessions, youth-created narratives, and take-home activities to promote water consumption and reduce sugary drink intake.

Over two-thirds of participating children qualified for free or reduced-price lunches, and more than half identified as Hispanic or Black. Dr. Monica Wang, associate professor of community health sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health and study corresponding author, noted that participants achieved a healthier BMI z-score trajectory over 12 months compared to a comparison group.

One of the most striking findings from this study is that we were able to shift our study participants’ BMI in a healthier direction at a time when childhood obesity trends nationally were moving the opposite way.

Dr. Monica Wang

Communities with lower income levels frequently face structural barriers to maintaining a healthy weight, including economic constraints and neighborhood environments that limit access to fresh foods and safe outdoor physical activity spaces. Community organizations act as vital partners in prevention because they operate directly within environments where children spend time and build daily habits.

Boys & Girls Clubs serve more than four million school-aged youth across 5,500 nationwide sites, offering structured mentorship through after-school and summer programming. Dr. Wang emphasized that these real-world results demonstrate how health improvements can successfully occur outside of traditional pediatrician offices through trusted community networks.