Prevalence of overweight and obesity in youth (ages 6-10) with intellectual disabilities in Kansas

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Authors
Dodd, Hannah
Jackson, Jennifer
York, Kambree
Gillig, Bailey
Engle, Natali
Advisors
Pitetti, Kenneth H.
Issue Date
2020-05-01
Type
Abstract
Keywords
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Dodd, H., Jackson, J., York, K., Gillig, B., Engle, N. 2020. Prevalence of overweight an obesity in youth (ages 6-10) with intellectual disabilities in Kansas -- In Proceedings: 16th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, p.22
Abstract

Overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) in youth have immediate harmful effects which include high blood pressure and cholesterol, insulin resistance, asthma and sleep apnea. Future health risks include becoming OW/OB as adults. In addition, OW/OB represents significant health problems in the youth with intellectual disability (ID). The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of OW/OB in youth (6-19 yrs) with ID, without down syndrome, in the State of Kansas to the national standards established by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Height (m) and weight (kg) were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was determined (BMI = kg • m-2) for 598 participants (389 males, 209 females). BMI classifications for normal weight (NW), OW, and OB were determined using CDC growth charts in that: OW = 85th < 95th %tile sex-specific BMI-for-age; and OB = ≥95%tile sex-specific BMI-for-age. Participants were further divided into children (6-11 yrs) and youth (12-19 yrs) to compare to national standards established by CDC. For females: 32.4% and 43.2% for children and youth in the general population were OW/OB, respectively; and for ID participants, 39% and 60% of children and youth were OW/OB, respectively. For males: 37.2% and 35.1% for children and youth in the general population were OW/OB, respectively; and for ID participants, 28% and 56% of children and youth were OW/OB, respectively. Children with ID exhibited similar percentages of OW/OB as in the general population, but youth with ID demonstrated higher levels of OW/OB by 16 (females) and 20 (males) percentage points. These findings suggest the need for community health promotion including physical activity and healthy eating behaviors for youth with ID.

Table of Contents
Description
Presented to the 16th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held online, Wichita State University, May 1, 2020.
Research completed in the Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions
Publisher
Wichita State University
Journal
Book Title
Series
GRASP
v. 16
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
EISSN