Richmond, Tracy K.Elliott, Marc N.Franzini, LuisaKawachi, IchiroCaughy, Margaret O.Gilliland, M. JaniceWalls, Courtney E.Franklin, Frank A.Lowry, RichardBanspach, Stephen W.Schuster, Mark A.2014-03-112014Richmond, T. K., M. N. Elliott, L. Franzini, I. Kawachi, M. O. Caughy, M. J. Gilliland, C. E. Walls, et al. 2014. “School Programs and Characteristics and Their Influence on Student BMI: Findings from Healthy Passages.” PLoS ONE 9 (1): e83254. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083254. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083254.1932-6203http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11879491Background: Little is known about the contribution of school contextual factors to individual student body mass index (BMI). We set out to determine if school characteristics/resources: (1) are associated with student BMI; (2) explain racial/ethnic disparities in student BMI; and (3) explain school-level differences in student BMI. Methods: Using gender-stratified multi-level modeling strategies we examined the association of school characteristics/resources and individual BMI in 4,387 5th graders in the Healthy Passages Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Additionally, we examined the association of race/ethnicity and individual BMI as well as the between-school variance in BMI before and after adding individual and school characteristics to test for attenuation. Results: The school-level median household income, but not physical activity or nutrition resources, was inversely associated with female BMI (β = −0.12, CI: −0.21,−0.02). Neither school demographics nor physical activity/nutrition resources were predictive of individual BMI in males. In Black females, school characteristics attenuated the association of race/ethnicity and BMI. Individual student characteristics—not school characteristics/resources-reduced the between-school variation in BMI in males by nearly one-third and eliminated it in females. Conclusions: In this cohort of 5th graders, school SES was inversely associated with female BMI while school characteristics and resources largely explained Black/White disparities in female weight status. Between-school differences in average student weight status were largely explained by the composition of the student body not by school characteristics or programming.en-USMathematicsStatisticsBiostatisticsConfidence IntervalsMedicineClinical Research DesignLongitudinal StudiesEpidemiologyPediatric EpidemiologySocial EpidemiologyNutritionObesityPublic HealthSocioeconomic Aspects of HealthJournal Article2014-03-1110.1371/journal.pone.0083254