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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Obesity and overweight prevalence among adolescents with disabilities
James H Rimmer1, Kiyoshi Yamaki, Brienne M Davis
1Center on Health Promotion Research for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608-6904, USA. jrimmer@uic.edu
Introduction:
We examined overweight and obesity prevalence among adolescents with disabilities by disability type (physical vs cognitive) and demographic factors (sex, age, race/ethnicity).
Methods:
Parents (N = 662) of adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with disabilities from 49 states responded to an online survey from September 2008 through March 2009.
Results:
Prevalence of obesity among adolescents with physical and cognitive disabilities (17.5%) was significantly higher compared with that among adolescents without disabilities (13.0%). Obesity prevalence was higher among males, 18-year-olds, and youths with cognitive disabilities than among females, younger adolescents, and youths with physical disabilities.
Conclusion:
The higher prevalence of obesity among youths with disabilities compared with nondisabled youths, particularly in certain subgroups, requires further examination in future surveillance research.
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