Pennington Biomedical wants children 5 years old and younger to participate in the Shape Up! Keiki study

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is looking for children 5 years old and younger to participate in the Shape Up! Keiki research study. The purpose of the Shape Up! Keiki research study is to create a better way to measure and describe health from body shape.

Parents can learn more about their child's health by joining the Shape Up! Keiki study, while also providing important information that will help us find quick ways to measure obesity status and health based on a child's body shape. The goal is that this study is for us to have a better understanding of which young children are at high risk of metabolic consequences of obesity."

Dr. Steven Heymsfield, Professor and Director of the Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical

To qualify for this research study, your child should be 5 years of age or younger. The study is free to join, and participants will be compensated $200 for their time.

"At Pennington Biomedical our mission is to discover triggers of chronic disease through innovative research that improves human health across the lifespan," said Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical. "That starts with infants and children. If we can better measure and identify obesity risks early on, treatment and prevention measures can begin so we can improve long-term health outcomes."

The Shape Up! Keiki research study was funded through a $3.1M grant from the National Institute of Health. Heymsfield and Pennington Biomedical are partnering with University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researcher John Shepherd on the project.