Brief Report
Association of physical activity and body mass index with metabolic syndrome among US adolescents with disabilities

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2013.01.002Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Adolescents with disabilities (A-With-D) have shown to be less physically active and more obese compared to adolescents without disabilities (A-Without-D); however, little is known in regards to the impact of physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) on metabolic syndrome (MetS) among A-with-D.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of MetS, PA levels and BMI percentile between A-With-D and A-Without-D, and to examine the influence of PA and BMI on MetS among A-With-D.

Methods

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2010 was used in this study. Inclusion criteria for the study consisted of those who indicated, in the survey, that they had received special education or early intervention service (n = 278). PA level was assessed subjectively by asking the amount of leisure time PA. BMI percentile was obtained using BMI growth charts by age and sex. The continuous MetS (cMetS) score was computed using age and sex standardized residual for mean arterial blood pressure, triglyceride, glucose, waist circumference, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Results

A-With-D were more likely to be obese and less likely to be engaged in PA compared to A-Without-D. A-With-D were less favorable to MetS with significantly higher cMetS scores than A-Without-D. Lower levels of PA and higher percentile of BMI were significantly associated with higher levels of cMetS scores among A-With-D.

Conclusion

This study provided empirical evidence for the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle (i.e., increasing the level of PA and decreasing the BMI percentile) among A-With-D in order to reduce the risk of MetS.

Section snippets

Surveys and sample

The NHANES consists of a series of nationally representative cross-sectional surveys from the US National Center for Health Statistics, and the details of the survey design of the NHANES are available through the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website.14 In this study, 12 years of continuous NHANES (1999–2010) data were used to obtain an adequate sample to represent our target population.

The criteria used to determine the eligibility of the sample were as follows: 1) adolescents who were

Results

The descriptive statistics of PA levels, BMI percentile, and cMetS scores for both A-With-D and A-Without-D are presented in Table 1. Overall, A-With-D were shown to have higher rates of PIA at 20.3%, compared to 14.7% of A-Without-D. Higher rates of obesity were also found for A-With-D at 20.9%, compared to 14.2% of A-Without-D. After controlling for demographic characteristics, A-With-D were more prone to MetS with significantly higher cMetS scores (adjusted Mean = −0.13) compared to

Discussion

In the present study, A-With-D are less likely to be engaging in PA than A-Without-D. This finding is mostly in agreement with the current understanding of a lower prevalence of PA and higher prevalence of obesity among A-With-D.7, 8, 9 A lower PA level among this population may be due to the fact that they may face more substantial barriers to PA participation compared to non-disabled population.8, 26, 27 Such barriers can be associated with compounding factors of internal and external

Conclusion

In summary, A-With-D who engage in no leisure time PA should be encouraged to become more physically active. Specifically, meeting PA guidelines (i.e., 60 min of MVPA per day) may yield substantial health benefits by reducing the risk of MetS. Furthermore, obesity has been identified as the strongest predictor of MetS among A-With-D. These findings imply that a priority should also be placed on development of systematic efforts to reduce obesity among A-With-D.

References (37)

  • J.A. Morrison et al.

    Metabolic syndrome in childhood predicts adult metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus 25 to 30 years later

    J Pediatr

    (2007)
  • J. Steinberger et al.

    Progress and challenges in metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents

    Circulation

    (2009)
  • The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons With disabilities

    (2005)
  • S. Everett Jones et al.

    Relationship between physical disabilities or long-term health problems and health risk behaviors or conditions among US high school students

    J Sch Health

    (2008)
  • T.H. Nguyen et al.

    Association between physical activity and metabolic syndrome: a cross sectional survey in adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Publ Health

    (2010)
  • I.S. Okosun et al.

    Continuous metabolic syndrome risk score, body mass index percentile, and leisure time physical activity in American children

    J Clin Hypertens

    (2010)
  • A Report of the Surgeon General

    (1996)
  • D.D. Rosser Sandt et al.

    Comparison of physical activity levels between children with and without autistic spectrum disorders

    Adapt Phys Activ Q

    (2005)
  • Cited by (0)

    Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare or financial disclosures.

    The abstract of this study was presented at the 58th ACSM annual meeting, Denver, CO, USA in May, 2011.

    View full text