“We feel that the healthy weight issue for people with disabilities is every bit as serious as it is in the general population. There’s an epidemic, an endemic of unhealthy weight in this population.”

What is Obesity?

Obesity is defined using BMI, which is an estimate of the amount of body fat a person has based on his or her height and weight.

• A child is considered overweight if he or she hasa BMI at or above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.
• A child is considered obese if he or she hasa BMIat or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a BMI calculator for children and teens on its website that also factors in gender: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx

Obesity is global problem. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk factors for global deaths and the problem is increasing. Worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In the U.S., more than one-third of all adults are obese. But while obesity affects much of the developed world’s population, it is of special concern for those with disabilities. Research has demonstrated conclusively that both adults and children with disabilities are significantly more likely than their peers to be overweight or obese. “We found enormous differences between adults and children with and without disabilities across numerous surveillance tools,” reports Michael Fox, Sc.D., Associate Director for Science, Division of Human Development and Disability,National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention.