Research Spotlight: Healthy Weight Clinic Program Helps Kids Eat Better, Feel Better and Grow Healthier

Lauren Fiechtner, MD, MPH, of the Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Program at Mass General Brigham for Children, is the senior author of a paper published in Childhood Obesity, “Implementation and Effectiveness of the Healthy Weight Clinic Type III Hybrid Trial: Massachusetts CORD 3.0.” The findings were also presented at ObesityWeek 2025 in Atlanta, GA.

Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?

Many families struggle to find effective help for children with overweight or obesity. The Healthy Weight Clinic (HWC) — an evidence-based Family Healthy Weight Program recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — brings this support directly into children’s primary care clinics. The program centers on regular visits with doctors, dietitians and community health workers, as well as group sessions and check-ins to help families build healthy habits around food, activity and sleep.

Overall, our study found that the HWC can be successfully added to primary pediatric care in diverse communities. It helps families build healthier lifestyles and provides a model that other clinics across the country can use to support children’s healthy growth.

Q: What knowledge gap does your study help to fill?

Childhood obesity affects millions of children in the United States, yet few families have access to effective, affordable treatment within their primary care clinics. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment, but many clinics struggle to implement these interventions due to limited time, staffing and resources. This study tested whether the HWC could help bridge this gap.

Q: What methods or approach did you use?

We conducted a hybrid trial to evaluate how well the HWC improved children’s health, as well as how successfully it was implemented in real-world primary care settings. The study took place in eight clinics across Massachusetts and Mississippi, where clinics received training, technical assistance and participated in virtual learning focused on quality improvement.

Children ages 2–18 with overweight or obesity were eligible to join the program, and their results were compared to other children with overweight or obesity receiving routine care at the same sites but not attending the HWC. We collected data from electronic health records, caregiver surveys and staff interviews to measure changes in BMI, health behaviors and program satisfaction.

Q: What did you find?

We found that the HWC was both effective and feasible to implement in diverse primary care settings, reaching families from many backgrounds.

Among nearly 200 participating children, those enrolled in the HWC showed significant improvements in BMI compared to similar children receiving usual care. Participants also reported healthier eating habits, better quality of life and fewer binge eating symptoms after one year.

Parents were highly satisfied, and most clinics continued offering the program, demonstrating it can be sustained and scaled to support families nationwide.

Q: What are the implications?

For patients, this means that support for healthy lifestyles is more accessible, affordable and personalized, without needing to go to a specialty clinic. Families can work closely with their regular care team to build lasting habits around food, activity and well-being.

For health systems, the results demonstrate that the HWC model can be scaled nationwide, helping clinics deliver care that aligns with national guidelines and improves children’s health outcomes in a practical, equitable way.

Q: What are the next steps?

Based on the positive results thus far, the program continues to be implemented in additional health centers across nine states.

Future work will focus on improving reimbursement strategies, enhancing staff training and communication and ensuring that clinics have the resources needed to sustain the program over time. Researchers will also explore how to adapt the HWC for different populations and care settings, and how to better address social factors like food insecurity that influence healthy growth.

Authorship: In addition to Fiechtner, Mass General Brigham authors include Ines Castro, Cara F. Ruggiero, Man Luo, Meghan Perkins, Sarah Matathia, Alexy Arauz Boudreau and Elsie Taveras.

Paper cited: Castro, I., et al. “Implementation and Effectiveness of the Healthy Weight Clinic Type III Hybrid Trial: Massachusetts CORD 3.0.” Childhood Obesity. DOI: 10.1177/21532176251386213

Funding: This work was supported by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (U18DP006424). Dr. Taveras is supported by grant (K24HL159680) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.