H2GO program in the US helped reduce adjusted BMI in children — News-Medical
In Massachusetts, United States, the H2GO! program, aimed at reducing the consumption of sugary drinks and promoting water, produced a greater reduction in zBMI — a BMI measure adjusted for age and sex — among children compared with the control group. The results of the cluster-randomized study, published in JAMA Network Open, were reported by News-Medical.
The study involved 437 children aged 8 to 13 who attended Boys & Girls Clubs sites. Trained club staff conducted 12 in-person group sessions for children, as well as activities involving one parent or guardian. The program included tastings, demonstrations of the amount of sugar in drinks, creative projects, and homework assignments about the importance of drinking water.
Changes in beverage consumption
At the start of the study, participants drank an average of 12 ounces of sugary beverages and 24 ounces of water per day. After 12 months, children in the H2GO! group reported reducing their daily consumption of sugary drinks by an average of 3.6 ounces and increasing their water consumption by 6.6 ounces.
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The six-week program was conducted in several waves from 2020 to 2025. It was implemented in the out-of-school setting of Boys & Girls Clubs, where children take part in after-school and summer programs.
Results by BMI category
In an exploratory analysis, the authors found that nearly 30% of H2GO! participants moved to a lower BMI category over 12 months, compared with 18% at control sites. Among children who had overweight at baseline, 44.4% of program participants moved to the healthy-weight category, versus 31.6% in the comparison group. A total of 5.6% of children in H2GO! and 21.1% at control sites moved to the obesity category.
Among participants who had obesity at baseline, 47.5% of children in the H2GO! group and 36.7% in the comparison group moved to a lower BMI category. The authors noted that participants self-reported their beverage consumption and that further research is needed because of differences in measurements and the possible influence of other factors.
