Obesity trends of 8–18 year old Special Olympians: 2005–2010

• This study compared the obesity rates of children and youth with intellectual disabilities in the USA with existing prevalence rates of children and youth in the USA.
• Obesity was based on BMI derived from the Special Olympics International Healthy Athletes database.
• Special Olympic participants (12–<19 years) had significantly higher levels of obesity than the national average in 2007–2008 and 2009–2010.
• Male Special Olympic participants in the 8–11 years age group were more likely to be obese than female Special Olympic participants.

Obesity is a worldwide health problem. Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience health disparities, including higher rates of obesity than their peers with typical development; however, there has been no tracking of the obesity rates of children and youth with ID over time. The objective of this study was to compare the BMI of children and youth (8–<19 years of age) with and without ID in the USA, measured overtime; and determine differences between the two groups. This study is a secondary analysis of BMI derived from the Special Olympics International (SOI) Healthy Athletes database. Data were available for 2541 (1527 male) American SOI participants. Using BMI cut-offs from the CDC growth curves the BMI data were stratified into two age bands: 8–11 years (n = 429) and 12–<19 years (n = 2112), and comparisons were made between SOI participants’ BMI data and published NHANES data from the years 2005–2006, 2007–2008, and 2009–2010. SOI participants (12–<19 years) had significantly higher levels of obesity than the national average in 2007–2008 and 2009–2010; there were no differences in the children (8–11 years). Males in the 8–11 years age group were more likely to be obese than females in the same age group (OR = 1.62, p = .035). These results highlight that an obesity disparity exists in the USA for children and youth with ID, particularly as they get older and there is a need for further physical activity and healthy eating interventions and overall health promotion activities targeted at this population.