Promoting healthy lifestyles among Latinx families with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD): Role of Occupational Therapy

Research Objectives: (1) to determine the prevalence of obesity in a multisite sample of Latinx children with IDD and (2) to examine what social determinants within the child’s household are associated with obesity risk in the study sample

Design: Observational, cross-sectional study utilizing parent-reported data on parenting practices, home environment, and parent and child height and weight using standardized measures

Setting: Community setting with families recruited through community organizations and social media

Participants: Latinx primary caregivers of an ambulatory child aged 6-17 years old with IDD

Interventions: Not applicable

Main Outcome Measures: Independent variables included: Child and caregiver demographics, food security and family income, parenting strategies measured using the Parenting Strategies for Eating and Physical Activity Scale (PEAS), child dietary behavior using the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory (BAMBI), and child’s access to electronics in the home environment. Items were summed to calculate index scores. The dependent variable was BMI percentile was calculated using standardized child weight calculator.

Results: 23.9% of the children met criteria for overweight and 37.5% met criteria for obesity, which is higher than the national prevalence rates for for Latinx children and for children with IDD. Compared with children diagnosed with ASD, children with other intellectual and developmental disabilities had a higher BMI percentile. Parents engaging in more controlling dietary strategies (i.e., limiting snacks and sugary beverages) had children with lower BMI percentile (β=-0.34, p=0.002).

Conclusions: Findings highlight the increased prevalence of childhood obesity at the intersection of race (Latinx) and disability. Findings also highlight the role of family environment and parenting strategies in risk of obesity for Latinx children.

Author(s) Disclosures: No conflict of interest