Obesity in Youth with Disabilities Higher than in Youth without Disabilities
- Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), as well as the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) comparing youth with and without disabilities, found that the rate of obesity (i.e., BMI = 95th% for age and sex) among youth with disabilities was significantly higher compared to their age-matched peers without disabilities.
- Rimmer and colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Disability and Human Development, recently examined the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related chronic/secondary conditions in adolescents across the nation and compared them to data on youth without disabilities from the 2007 YRBS. Findings were:
- Youth with disabilities reported a significantly higher prevalence of obesity/overweight compared to youth without disabilities.
- Overall, 34.0% of youth with disabilities were overweight or obese.
- Obese and overweight youth with disabilities reported a significantly higher prevalence of chronic conditions compared to healthy weight youth with disabilities including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, depression, fatigue, liver or gallbladder problems, low self esteem, preoccupation with weight, early maturation, and pressure sores.
- Design of school-based obesity interventions do not address specific physical and nutritional concerns associated with a particular disability. Certain accommodations are necessary to enable youth with disabilities to participate in physical activity and nutritional programs available to their peers without disability.
- It is imperative that we increase awareness about the obesity-related health disparities that exist between adolescents with disabilities compared to their non-disabled peers.
- For more information on the Disability Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP) on Reducing Obesity and Obesity-Related Secondary Conditions in Adolescents with Disabilities, as well as tips for motivating kids to increase their physical activity and improve their nutrition, visit: http://www.uic-chp.org/CHP_A6_DRRP_01.html
