title: Obesity in children with developmental and/or physical disabilities.
abstract: Children with developmental or physical disabilities, many of whom face serious health-related conditions, also are affected by the current obesity crisis. Although evidence indicates that children with disabilities have a higher prevalence of obesity than do children without disabilities, little is known of the actual magnitude of the problem in this population. To address this concern, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) held a conference on obesity in children with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities, bringing together scientists and practitioners in the fields of obesity and disability to foster collaboration, identify barriers to healthy weight status in populations with disabilities, propose avenues to solutions through research and practice, and develop a research agenda to address the problem. This article describes current knowledge about prevalence of obesity in this population, discusses factors influencing obesity risk, and summarizes recommendations for research presented at the conference.
authors.affiliation: Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 200 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA 02452, USA; Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bandini
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability (DHDD), National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS:E88, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Danielson
authors.affiliation: Child Development and Behavior Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: espositl@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Layla E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Physical Education Department, State University of New York College at Cortland, Cortland, NY, USA.
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability (DHDD), National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS:E88, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Gallahue Family Professor of Child Development, Kinesiology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Georgia C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125-3393, USA.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: Barbara E. Knudson Endowed Chair in Family Policy, Director of External Relations and Economic Development, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, 2361 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR 97331-8687, USA.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111, USA.
authors.forename: Aviva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Must
authors.affiliation: Kinesiology, Ohio State University, PAES Building A-244, 305 West 17th Ave., Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Porretta
authors.affiliation: NICHD Consultant, 202 E. Jefferson St., Falls Church, VA 22046, USA.
authors.forename: Anne Brown
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125-3393, USA.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stanish
authors.affiliation: Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Blvd. Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Tiina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Urv
authors.affiliation: Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago, 2211 N Oak Park Ave., Chicago, IL 60707, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.affiliation: The University of Montana Rural Institute on Disabilities, 52 Corbin Hall, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Humphries
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Children; Developmental disability; Intellectual disability; Obesity; Physical disability