Obesity is a public health concern in both general and ID
populations. The prevalence of obesity in adolescents with ID is approximately
36% higher than general populations in boys and girls (Stewart el a., 2009).
Another study by Rimmer and his colleagues (2014) investigated the obesity and its
related secondary conditions among adolescents with intellectual/developmental disabilities, as follows.
² High blood pressure,
² High blood cholesterol,
² Diabetes,
² Depression,
² Fatigue,
² Liver or gallbladder problems,
² Low self-esteem,
² Preoccupation with weight,
² Early maturation
² Pressure sores.
Regarding the
obesity of health problems in children and adolescents in ID, Lin and his researchers
(2005) reported that the top five health concerns in this sample were neurological disorders (including epilepsy; 11%), others
(11%), Cardiovascular problems (7%), skin diseases (6%), gastrointestinal illness
(5%), and respiratory illness (5%). In addition, there were 26% of study sample
having regular medication history. With increase age, the weight status of obesity/overweight
conditions has been apparent in ID population. It draws an attention to the
fact that early interventions and strategies for the problem of obesity in children
and adolescents with ID are needed to ensure the quality of life.
External reading: Obesity Impacting More With Disabilities
(By TastyCakes [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
References
Lin, J.-D., Yen,
C.-F., Li, C.-W., & Wu, J.-L. (2005). Patterns of obesity among children
and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan. Journal of
Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 18(2), 123-129. doi:
10.1111/j.1468-3148.2005.00241.x
Rimmer, J.
H., Yamaki, K., Lowry, B. M. D., Wang, E., & Vogel, L. C. (2010). Obesity
and obesity-related secondary conditions in adolescents with
intellectual/developmental disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability
Research, 54(Part 9), 787-794.
Stewart, L., Van
De Ven, L., Katsarou, V., Rentziou, E., Doran, M., Jackson, P., . . . Wilson,
D. (2009). High prevalence of obesity in ambulatory children and adolescents
with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research,
53(10), 882-886. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2009.01200.x
