Weight outcomes in children with developmental disabilities
What is the name of the article?
Weight outcomes in children with developmental disabilities from a multidisciplinary clinic
What was the goal of this study?
To look at the changes in weight for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and children without disabilities seen at a Healthy Lifestyles Clinic from 2008 to 2018.
What did we find?
More than a quarter of the children seen at the clinic had a developmental disability. In children under 12 years old, children with disabilities were twice as likely to have lowered their weight than children without disabilities. Very few children 12 and older with disabilities lowered their weight. This group took more medicines that can affect weight.
What did we learn?
Treatment for obesity at younger ages can lead to a healthier weight for children with disabilities. We did not look at other health factors that might have gotten better with treatment.
Why is this important?
Helping children with disabilities make good food choices and be more active early in life can lead to better health in the future.
Who are the authors of the study?
Byron Alexander Foster,1 Kimberly Reynolds,1 Alicia CallejoBlack,2 Natasha Polensek,1 and Beau C. Weill3
Authors are from: 1. Oregon Health & Science University; 2. University of California, San Diego; 3. Metropolitan Pediatrics
Who participated in the study?
Key Words:
Obesity: Having a very high weight for someone’s height
Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD): Disabilities that usually happen before or just after birth and affect the child’s growth and development
Healthy lifestyles clinic (a multidisciplinary clinic): A place where many different doctors and health care professionals help children with obesity and their families
Article Citation
Foster, B. A., Reynolds, K., CallejoBlack, A., Polensek, N., & Weill, B. C. (2021). Weight outcomes in children with developmental disabilities from a multidisciplinary clinic. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 108, 103809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103809
| Age in years, categories | No Disability (182 people) | Disability (90 people) |
|---|---|---|
| ≤5 | 3% | 19% |
| 6-11 | 52% | 52% |
| ≥12 | 46% | 29% |
| Race/ethnicity | No Disability (182 people) | Disability (90 people) |
|---|---|---|
| White, non-Latino | 49% | 50% |
| Latino | 40% | 39% |
| All others | 12% | 11% |
For more details about study participants, please see the full text article.