Some contributions to the determination of obesity prevalence among children with special educational needs

Obesity in children is reaching epidemic proportions throughout the world, with little literature on the level of obesity of children with special educational needs. To address this problem, we reviewed the medical records of 114 children 3 to 20 years old of the Immaculate Conception School in Granada (Spain). We analyzed demographic data, clinical and anthropometric data. The level of obesity was determined from the tracking of BMI percentile curves by age and sex. The children were classified by the findings as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. Also the individuals were classified into six groups according to the medical diagnosis: Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, Low Incidence Syndrome and Fragile-X Syndrome. SPSS® 15.0 was used for statistical studies. In general differences were statistically highly significant (p = 0.00) with respect to gender (higher BMI in females) and age (increase coincided with an increase in chronological age). Association was also established with syndromes (p = 0.00), as determined by a BMI of 29.64 X-Fragile versus 16.57 Cerebral Palsy. Twenty-seven and two percent of the sample was obese (defined by the Fragile-X syndrome and mental retardation), whereas 13.2% were underweight, conditioned by social factors, metabolic and developmental maturity. It will be necessary the creation and implementation of programs aimed at increasing physical activity and improving nutrition.