Obesity Prevalence Among a Group of Chicago Residents With Disabilities

Abstract

Rimmer JH, Wang E. Obesity prevalence among a group of Chicago residents with disabilities. Objective To examine the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity in a predominantly minority group of adults with disabilities. Design Cross-sectional study using secondary data analysis. Setting Major university medical center. Participants Adults with physical and cognitive disabilities (N=306). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Direct measures of height and weight to classify subjects into 3 obesity categories: overweight (body mass index [BMI] range, 25–29.9kg/m 2), obese (BMI range, 30–39.9kg/m 2), and extreme obesity (BMI, ≥40kg/m 2). Results People with disabilities, regardless of sex, race and ethnicity, or age, had significantly higher rates of overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity compared with people without disabilities. Extreme obesity (BMI, ≥40kg/m 2) was approximately 4 times higher among people with disabilities than in the general population (odds ratio=4.08; 95% confidence interval, 3.50–4.66). There were also substantial differences in obesity prevalence among people with disabilities, using actual measurement data, compared with self-reported data from previously published data sets. Conclusions The disparity in excess body weight between people with and without disabilities, particularly in the category of extreme obesity, along with substantial differences in obesity prevalence between actual and self-reported data, show a critical need to better understand why these differences exist.