Influence of Eating Habits and Nutritional Status on Overweight and Obesity in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Background/Purpose: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in children. Obesity is an emerging problem for children with special needs including children with CP. The United States lacks a widespread surveillance system to track prevalence of CP and co-morbidities. Hence, we sought to establish the prevalence of obesity in the US among children with CP using nationally representative data from the NSCH. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2011-2012 NSCH. The NSCH provides data on the healthcare of children ages 0 to 17 years of age. Data included a total of 95,677 (unweighted) child-level interviews. The analytic sample included 312 children with CP, with sampling weights applied. Logistic regression was used to assess the prevalence of overweight/obesity in children with CP by calculating adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 26.8% in children with CP versus 31.3% in children without CP. Among children with CP, boys [AOR: 7.43 (95% CI: 2.42-22.76) were more likely to be overweight/obese compared to girls. Children with CP who walked independently were more likely to be overweight/obese than children who walked with assistance or did not walk (AOR: 3.31 (95% CI: 0.84-13.03)]. Conclusion: While our findings did not show a significant difference between children with and without CP and overweight/obesity status, our findings suggest that overweight/obesity should still be monitored in children with CP because more than one quarter of children with CP were overweight/obesity.Dr.P.H., Community Health and Prevention -- Drexel University, 201