Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in China.
One in three Chinese students with ID is already overweight or obese—screen BMI and weave movement into ABA sessions.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Yuan et al. (2021) weighed and measured 1,873 students with intellectual disability in Chinese special-education schools. They recorded height, weight, and diagnosis to see how many kids were overweight or obese.
The team also noted sex, age, and whether the child lived in a city or rural area.
What they found
About 1 in 3 students carried extra weight: 18% were overweight and 14% were obese. Boys, Down syndrome, autism, and city living each raised the odds.
The numbers match earlier French data almost exactly.
How this fits with other research
Bégarie et al. (2013) saw the same 30% figure in French special-ed schools, showing the problem is global, not just Chinese.
Doughty et al. (2015) looked at Special Olympians and found U.S. athletes were heavier than Chinese peers. That seems opposite, but the 2015 sample were adult athletes, while Q et al. studied school kids; age and sport level explain the gap.
Lloyd et al. (2012) surveyed Special-Olympics youth worldwide and again landed near 30%, confirming the trend across continents.
Day et al. (2021) moved the lens to older Irish adults with ID and found 69% overweight or obese, showing weight gain worsens with age.
Why it matters
If you serve youth with ID, expect every third client to carry excess weight. Add BMI checks to your intake routine, just like you track maladaptive behavior. Build short movement breaks and water-first habits into daily sessions; small steady steps can keep kids from joining the 70% who become obese adults.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity in children and adolescents has become a worldwide epidemic. There are several studies that have concentrated on the prevalence rate of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID), whereas data on such a population on the mainland of China remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence rate of overweight and obesity among school-aged children and adolescents with ID on China's mainland. METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional design to examine the body weight status of 1873 children and adolescents (ages 6-18 years old) with ID in 35 special education schools. Body mass index was calculated, and the concepts of overweight and obesity were defined according to the standard of the Working Group for Obesity in China. RESULTS: Data indicated that 18.2% (95% CI: 16.5%-20.0%) of children and adolescents with ID were overweight and 14.4% (95% CI: 12.8%-16.0%) were obese. Boys with ID were more likely to be overweight than girls with ID (OR = 1.48[95% CI: 1.13-1.94], P < 0.05). Children and adolescents with Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorder had a trend to be classified as overweight (OR = 1.76[95% CI: 1.22-2.54], P < 0.05; OR = 1.57[95% CI: 1.17-2.09], P < 0.05, respectively) or obesity (OR = 1.82[95% CI: 1.23-2.69], P < 0.05; OR = 1.40 [95% CI: 1.02-1.93], P < 0.05, respectively) compared with those with ID without these conditions. Moreover, children and teenagers with ID living in urban areas had a predisposition to be overweight (OR = 2.16[95% CI: 1.14-4.09], P < 0.05) or obese (OR = 3.25[95% CI: 1.41-7.50], P < 0.05) relative to those who lived in rural areas. CONCLUSION: Results indicated that in China, the prevalence rate of overweight and obesity among school-aged children and adolescents with ID was remarkably high. Therefore, future research should make every effort to focus on reducing and preventing overweight and obesity of this population in China.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2021 · doi:10.1111/jir.12840