By Kerry Wiley

Introduction:

This month’s Research Corner explores Obesity, Trends in Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease in Children with and without Disabilities, and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Strategies.

Statistical Trends:

A review of Research and Literature from 2008 through 2013 finds that approximately 16.9 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 19 years in the United States are obese.   The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents with and without disabilities in the United States has nearly doubled in 20 years.   Research links obesity to health issues including: 

For further information regarding types of cardiovascular disease, please click and explore the following: American Heart Association Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

hypertension or abnormally high blood pressure; cardiovascular disease; a disease of the heart or blood vessels; and hyperlipidemia.  Hyperlipidemia is an abnormally high concentration of fats or lipids in the blood.    Research has identified and categorized many forms of cardiovascular disease.

Studies have found that children who are obese by the age of 7 have increased risks of heart disease and/or cardiovascular disease and stroke even without other cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure.  Approximately 80 percent of youth between the ages of 10 and 15 years who are overweight become obese by the age of 25.

Cardiovascular disease has been identified in 33 to 50 percent of adolescents with and without disabilities who are obese.