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An investigation into the incidence of obesity and underweight among adults with an intellectual disability in an Australian sample
- Authors:
- MOORE Kathleen A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 29(4), December 2004, pp.306-318.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Reports suggest that 7% to 18% of Australian adults are obese and a further 16% to 55% are overweight. Studies from other countries have indicated that obesity among people with an intellectual disability may be at least, or even more, prevalent. Prevalence rates range from 28% to 59%. The aim of the current study was to investigate the weight distribution of an Australian sample of people with an intellectual disability using Body Mass Index (BMI) to classify males and females, and Kelly and Rimmer's (1987) Percentage of Body Fat (PBF) formula to also classify males. Forty-one females and 52 males with a mild to severe intellectual disability were assessed. The correlation between BMI and PBF for males was r=.89. BMI classifications revealed a higher percentage of females as overweight (41.4%) and obese (36.6%) compared to overweight males (30.8%) and obese males (30.8%). There were more underweight males (7.6%) than females (4.9%). There was no relationship between living environment and weight classifications on the BMI. The PBF formula indicated that 73% of the males were classified as obese. The possibility of misclassification using the BMI and the need for weight interventions are discussed.
The development of the nutrition and activity knowledge scale for use with people with an intellectual disability
- Authors:
- ILLINGWORTH Kaye, MOORE Kathleen A., McGILLIVARY Jane
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 16(2), June 2003, pp.159-166.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Obesity is an increasing health problem for many Australians, no less so among people with an intellectual disability. Behaviour change aimed at improving nutritional intake and increasing levels of physical activity is a requirement for the reduction of obesity. An essential part of this process is to first ascertain the level of knowledge and beliefs people with an intellectual disability have about these behaviours. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a scale to assess levels of nutritional and physical activity knowledge among people with an intellectual disability. Seventy-three people with an intellectual disability completed the interview-rated scale at time 1 and 66 of them completed it again at a 3-week re-test. The scale demonstrated strong factorial construct validity, high internal consistency and good temporal stability. The applications of this scale in future research and in intervention programmes are discussed.