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Introduction

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States over the last generation. More children are overweight or obese today than ever before and the numbers continue to grow. Obesity is defined as 20% over the recommended weight for height or greater than 85th percentile for Body Mass Index (BMI). Childhood obesity is mainly caused by a lack of physical activity. Today’s youth lead a very sedentary lifestyle, with an average of 17 hours a week of television watching, not including video games and computer time. Children with disabilities are at an even greater risk for obesity because of this sedentary lifestyle. Many parents believe that because of their disability, their children cannot be physically active, which is not the truth. This lack of physical activity may not only lead to obesity, but to many other numerous health problems as well.

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This fact sheet was last updated on 03-01-2007.