Child Body Fat and Body Mass Index: Which Determinants are Most Important?

Retracted: Body Mass Index and Gut Microbiome: A Cluster-Randomized, Controlled, Pilot Feasibility Study

The Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity officially retracts the article entitled, "Body Mass Index and Gut Microbiome: A Cluster-Randomized, Controlled, Pilot Feasibility Study," by Frenn M, Salzman N, Lam V, Holtz M, Moosreiner A, and Garnier M. (Child Obes. 2023 Feb 2 ahead of print. doi: 10.1089/chi.2022.0171). After the Online Now (epub) publication of the paper, the Editor of the journal received an email from a reader with concerns regarding fundamental flaws in the study. The journal's Editor-in-Chief provided this letter to the authors of the article and provided an opportunity to respond. The authors addressed several of the comments but defended their main analysis. The Editor made the decision to retract the paper based on the following: (a) the distinction between a weakness or limitation in research vs invalid or incorrect methods is important; (b) weaknesses and limitations can be addressed by acknowledging them, whereas errors merit correction of the scientific record; and (c) the author response did not indicate that their original paper used correct and valid methods and it was therefore judged to be unreliable and meriting retraction. The Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity asked highly experienced statisticians to re-review the paper in conjunction with the complainant's statements. The statisticians all are considered experts in their field and familiar with the issue being debated and have no affiliation or relationship with the complainants or the authors. After carefully examining the article, the statisticians agreed that flaws exist, most importantly that clustering and nesting should be accounted for in the statistical analysis given the cluster randomized design, thereby rendering the results biased and invalid. Based on the statisticians' assessments of the published article and the authors' reanalysis, the Editor of Childhood Obesity is no longer confident in the results and, though the authors are not in agreement, officially retracts the article from the literature. See the official Retraction Notice (10.1089/chi.2022.0171.retract) to view the original letter from the complainant, and the authors' responses, which are included as supplemental material for clarity.