Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity and nutrition and physical activity behavior between primary school children with and without disabilities.
STUDY DESIGN: Body weight and height were measured in 4072 children from regular primary schools in the city of Zwolle, the Netherlands, and in 85 children from a school for children with disabilities. Furthermore, parents completed a questionnaire on the child's nutrition and physical activity behavior. A χ(2) analysis was used to test categorical variables between groups, and analysis of variance was used for continuous variables.
RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among disabled children was 30.6% and 10.6%, respectively, which is three and six times higher than in nondisabled children (P < .001). Furthermore, our study shows statistically significant differences in nutrition and physical activity behavior between disabled and nondisabled children.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to promote a healthy lifestyle and to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity in disabled children.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 735-9 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Pediatrics |
Volume | 158 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Keywords
- Child
- Disability Evaluation
- Female
- Humans
- Life Style
- Male
- Motor Activity
- Netherlands
- Obesity
- Overweight
- Retrospective Studies
- Comparative Study
- Journal Article