Obesity, physical activity, and sedentary behaviors in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder compared with typically developing peers.
Across 33,865 U.S. teens, those with autism were heavier and less active, and risk rose with autism severity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Heald et al. (2020) asked 33,865 U.S. teens about their weight and activity. They compared kids with autism to kids without autism.
Parents also rated how severe the autism was. The team looked at who was overweight and who moved enough each day.
What they found
Teens with autism were heavier and moved less. The more severe the autism, the higher the chance of being overweight.
This matches what Eussen et al. (2016) saw four years earlier. Same pattern, bigger sample.
How this fits with other research
Healy et al. (2019) found the same 1.5× obesity jump in kids aged 10-17. Brodhead et al. (2019) added wrist-watch data and showed the extra weight tracks with less moderate-to-vigorous play.
Nichols et al. (2019) asked parents why activity stays low after high school. Parents said school ends, supports vanish, and safe places to move are scarce.
Fahmie et al. (2013) tried a 10-week school diet-and-exercise class. Candy dropped, fitness inched up, but weight barely budged. This looks like a contradiction, yet it is not: the survey papers show the problem is big; the pilot shows short classes are too small to fix it.
Why it matters
If you serve teens with autism, plan for heavier bodies and less movement. Build movement into daily routines, not just 30-minute PE. Track BMI at every visit and teach families how to keep activity going after school ends.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Decreased engagement in beneficial physical activity and increased levels of sedentary behavior and unhealthy weight are a continued public health concern in adolescents. Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder may be at an increased risk compared with their typically developing peers. Weekly physical activity, sedentary behavior, and body mass index classification were compared among adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder. Analyses included 33,865 adolescents (autism spectrum disorder, n = 1036) from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health (United States). After adjustment for covariates, adolescents with autism spectrum disorder were found to engage in less physical activity and were more likely to be overweight and obese compared with their typically developing peers (p's < 0.05). As parent-reported autism spectrum disorder severity increased, the adjusted odds of being overweight and obese significantly increased and physical activity participation decreased (p-for-trends < 0.001). The findings suggest there is a need for targeted programs to decrease unhealthy weight status and support physical activity opportunities for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder across the severity spectrum.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2020 · doi:10.1177/1362361319861579