Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Adults With and Without Disabilities

This study aimed to present the most recent nationally representative prevalence estimates of obesity among adults with and without disabilities and to investigate the association between obesity and disability.

The study included 5917 participants aged 20 years and older from the August 2021-August 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30, using measured height and weight. Disability was defined as self-reported difficulties in seeing, hearing, walking, communication, cognition, and/or self-care. Prevalence ratios from logistic regression models that adjusted for age, sex, race-Hispanic origin, education, smoking, and health status were used to evaluate the association between obesity and disability.

During August 2021-August 2023, 40.3% of adults had obesity and 16.5% had disabilities. The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was higher among adults with disabilities compared to those without disabilities (50.6% vs. 37.9%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for sociodemographic and behavior-related characteristics, obesity prevalence remained higher for those with disabilities (adjusted prevalence ratio = 1.14, 95% CI 1.03-1.21).

Differences in age, sex, race-Hispanic origin, education, smoking, and health status do not explain the difference in obesity prevalence between those with and without disabilities. Obesity prevalence among adults with disabilities was higher than that from studies using self-reported values.