Prevalence of overweight and obesity among students with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan: A secondary analysis.
One third of Taiwanese students with ID are overweight, but school-based exercise can fix it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at height and weight records for the students with intellectual disability in Taiwan.
They wanted to know how many kids were overweight or obese.
They also checked if age, sex, or type of disability made a difference.
What they found
More than one in three students (35 %) were too heavy.
Teenagers and kids with Down syndrome had the highest risk.
Moderate or severe ID also raised the odds of obesity.
How this fits with other research
de Kuijper et al. (2013) looked at adults with ID who take daily antipsychotics.
That group showed 46 % obesity—higher than the 35 % seen here.
The gap makes sense: the adult sample was older, less active, and on weight-gaining meds.
Wu et al. (2017) took the next step.
After the 35 % figure came out, they ran a 12-week school exercise program.
Overweight students lost weight and gained stamina, proving the problem can be tackled.
Murthy et al. (2021) followed adults with IDD for five years.
They found obesity plus diabetes doubled the chance of high cholesterol.
Together these papers show the risk starts young and grows unless we act.
Why it matters
You now know that every third student with ID on your caseload may carry extra weight.
Start BMI screening at intake.
Build short movement breaks into long work sessions.
For teens and kids with Down syndrome, add nutrition talks with families.
Small steps early can cut later diabetes and heart disease risk.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: The study aims to investigate the prevalence and likelihood of overweight and obesity in a large sample of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) from Taiwan. METHOD: A secondary analysis of a cross sectional study was employed to examine the body weight status among 7 to 18 year-old students with ID enrolled in public special education schools in 2013. The students were divided into three age groups (7-12 yrs, 13-15 yrs, and 16-18 yrs), four ID levels (mild, moderate, severe, and profound) and six comorbidities of ID (ID only, ID caused by genetic disorders, ID with physical disability, ID with multiple disabilities without physical disabilities, ID with autism spectrum disorders, and others with rare diseases). RESULTS: The sample represented 34.8% of students with ID attending public special education schools in Taiwan. Within this sample, 35.2% were identified as being overweight or obese. The 16 to 18 year-old age group were approximately two times (AOR=2.02, more likely to be obese than the 7-12 year-old group. Students with ID caused by genetic disorders such as Down syndrome (AOR=2.00) appeared to be more overweight or obese in comparison to those with ID only. Students with moderate (AOR=1.64) and severe ID (AOR=1.49) were more overweight/obese compared to those with profound ID. CONCLUSION: The findings not only highlight the high prevalence of overweight/obesity but also stress the need for health promotion initiatives to address issues of overweight/obesity within this population.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.02.018