title: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among students with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan: A secondary analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Texas Woman's University, P. O. Box 425647, Denton, TX 76204, United States. Electronic address: roger.pans@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cheng-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Texas Woman's University, P. O. Box 425647, Denton, TX 76204, United States.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Texas Woman's University, P. O. Box 425647, Denton, TX 76204, United States.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Sciences, Texas Woman's University, P. O. Box 425769, Denton, TX 76204, United States.
authors.forename: Shann Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1640 W. Roosevelt Rd Suite 708, Chicago, IL 60608, United States.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hsieh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Adolescents; Body mass index; Children; Intellectual disabilities; Obesity; Taiwan