Obesity an Important Issue For Children with Disabilities

Childhood obesity is a growing problem. That’s why it’s so important for children to get proper exercise and make time to play, especially special needs children. Below are ideas to keep children with disabilities active and healthy.

According to a Fact Sheet published by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Disability and Human Development College of Applied Health Sciences, children with disabilities are at a greater risk for health concerns caused by obesity.

Obesity is fast becoming a major health issue for many children in the United States. Children with disabilities can be especially vulnerable to these health concerns.

The report states, “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 85 percentile for Body Mass Index (BMI). Childhood obesity is mainly caused by lack of physical activity.”

Keeping children with special needs active with appropriate play products is one of the reasons the National Lekotek Center has sponsored the AblePlay website that researches products for children with special needs. Lekotek is one of the leading supporters of play as a way to keep children with special healthy, growing and developing. Chief Toy Evaluator for AblePlay, Ellen Metrick said, “When you search the marketplace and go to industry events, you do see great products that work well for children of all abilities. Our job is to let parents of children with disabilities know about these.”

One category is bikes. Metrick has found a lot of great bikes that address the unique needs of children with special needs and keep kids in shape and active. Pedal-less beginner bikes are a great example because they allow the child to focus on learning the two most important elements--balance and steering. Another category that is one of Metrick favorites is trampolines because they gets kids active, burn energy and strengthen body awareness. “There are products out there that have the added stability and safety-features that make them perfect for children who have disabilities,” Metrick adds, “and you can find them for both indoor and outdoor use.”

The fact sheet published by the University of Illinois at Chicago goes on to state, “Children with disabilities are at an even greater risk for obesity because of their sedentary lifestyles. 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.”

According to recommendations from the National Association for Sports and Physical Education school-age children should:

• get 1 hour or more of moderate and vigorous physical activity on most or all days
• participate in several bouts of physical activity of 15 minutes or more each day
• avoid periods of inactivity of 2 hours or more

Parents with children with disabilities need to be a little extra creative sometimes to make sure that physical activities are part of their kid’s diet, just like health foods. Fortunately, there are online resources for the best and most appropriate choices to do just that.

For ideas on bikes, trampolines, and other plays products categorized by disabilities go to www.ableplay.org. AblePlay is a website that researches, rates and reviews current toys for children with special needs. AblePlay is part of the nonprofit National Lekotek Center, the leading authority on play for children with disabilities www.lekotek.org.

National Lekotek Center
2001 N. Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
Macy Kaiser, Director of Business Development
Phone: 773.528.5766 x 405
Fax: 773.537.2992
Web: http://www.ableplay.org
Email: MKaiser@anixter.org

This release was published on openPR.