Understanding Obesity Among Latinx Families of Children With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities: The Role of OT

The high prevalence of obesity and its negative effects on US children’s health is well established. Yet, literature on the prevalence and prevention for Latinx children with IDD is scarce. OTs can play a critical role in obesity by fostering healthy habits and routines through occupation. OT interventions must be informed by evidence of obesity prevalence and its sociocultural determinants. This descriptive study seeks to determine the prevalence of obesity in a sample of Latinx children with IDD and examine what SDOH in their households are associated with obesity risk. 97 Latinx parent-child dyads from Illinois and Texas completed a cross-sectional survey via phone/video interviews. Families were eligible if they identified as Latinx and had an ambulatory child 6-17 years old with IDD. Independent variables (IV) included: Demographics, food security, income, parenting strategies (Parenting Strategies for Eating and Physical Activity Scale), dietary behavior (Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory), nutritional intake, and access to electronics. Index scores were calculated. Dependent variable (DV): BMI percentile. Correlation matrices were developed between DV and IV. Stepwise multiple regression models were fitted by IV found to have significant correlations with DV. 37.5% of children met criteria for obesity (national rates: 26.2% for Latinx children; 26.6% for children with IDD). Families with more controlling parenting strategies (i.e., limiting snacks) had a lower BMI percentile (β = −0.34, p = 0.002), while increased access to electronics had a higher BMI percentile (β = 0.45, p = 0.002). Children with other IDD diagnoses had higher BMI percentile than those with ASD. The findings highlight the increased prevalence and risk of obesity at the intersection of race and disability and the role of family environment and parenting strategies. OTs support in healthy eating and play/leisure strategies to promote positive health outcomes and participation.

References

World Federation of Occupation Therapy (2019, September). Occupational therapy in obesity in childhood and adolescence. https://wfot.org/resources/occupational-therapy-in-obesity-in-childhood-and-adolescence

Cantal, A. (2019). Managing obesity in pediatrics: A role for occupational therapy. AOTA. https://www.aota.org/∼/media/Corporate/Files/Publications/CE-Articles/CE-Article-January-2019-Obesity-Pediatrics.pdf%20%20pada%2011%20Maret%202021

Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Mirza, M., Errisuriz, V. L., Zeng, W., Brown, J. P., Vanegas, S., Heydarian, N., Parra-Medina, D., Morales, P., Torres, H., & Magaña, S. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of Latinx caregivers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15), 7971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157971

Mirza, M., Brown-Hollie, J. P., Suarez-Balcazar, Y., Parra-Medina, D., Camillone, S., Zeng, W., Garcia-Gomez, E., Heydarian, N., & Magaña, S. (2022). Interventions for health promotion and obesity prevention for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities: A systematic review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-022-00335-5