Prevalence of obesity among persons with mental retardation: Patterns and associated risks

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of obesity among persons with mental retardation, who are receiving habilitation services from a large midwestern state agency, and to investigate the relationship between obesity status and variables that may influence obesity rates. Comparisons to the general population were made to determine if a disproportionate number of adults with mental retardation are obese, using standards published by the National Center for Health Statistics. An additional purpose of the study was to evaluate participants on selected health characteristics and to examine the type and number of adverse health complications linked to obesity.;Of the total sample, 19.2% were classified as obese using a body mass index of 30 kg/m;Univariate analyses revealed that several variables were associated with obesity status. Multivariate analysis was undertaken using logistic regression to estimate odds ratios for obesity and to construct an appropriate model for determining the best combination of variables associated with obesity. Significant variables identified in the multivariate analysis included age, gender, severity of mental retardation, drug therapy, and the presence of a clinical syndrome. Further modeling showed no meaningful interactions among the explanatory variables.;Descriptive analyses of selected healthy lifestyle characteristics revealed a number of individuals suffering from health complications related to obesity, too few individuals participating in structured physical exercise, poor documentation of smoking behavior, a large percentage of persons with total cholesterol readings above recommended levels, and a high intake of prescribed medications.;A medical and habilitation record review of all persons 18 years or older who were receiving habilitation services in a seven county area was conducted. Participants included 1,021 adults with a primary diagnosis of mental retardation. The mean age of participants was 37 years, ranging from 18 to 83 years. A total of 447 females (44%) and 574 males (56%) were included in the study.