William Tasker
Objective: To identify the prevalence of obesity among children with ASD and possible exacerbating factors.
Design: Mixed methods; literature review, a retrospective cross-sectional measure of obesity prevalence and a telephone questionnaire.
Setting: Children’s outpatient clinic, University Hospital of North Tees.
Patients: Children referred for ASD assessment (less than 5 years at referral).
Measures: BMI centile (UK-90 data), overweight ≥ 85th centile, obese ≥ 95th centile.
Results: 221 children referred for ASD assessment had recorded heights and weights. 45.0% (95% CI 40.5%-49.5%) with later diagnosed autism were overweight and 27.5% obese (95% CI 23.4%-31.6%). Significantly higher than; children referred but not meeting the criteria for autism, (26.9% (95% CI 22.3%-31.5%) overweight and 6.5% (95% CI 4.0%-9.0%) obese) and the local prevalence at school entry (24.1% (95% CI 21.7%-26.8%) overweight, 8.7% obese (95% CI 7.6-9.9%)).
The prevalence of being overweight among females with ASD was significantly higher than males (57.7% (95% CI 48.0-67.4%) v 41.5% (95% CI 36.4-46.6%)).
A survey for parents of children with a BMI centile of ≥ 95% revealed that a significant proportion (48%) of parents were “not worried” about their child’s weight. Themes included a restrictive eating pattern, a lack of appropriate physical activity options and a lack of acknowledgement of weight by professionals.
Conclusions: The prevalence of being overweight or obese was significantly higher among children with ASD than those without ASD and the local population. Possible exacerbating factors that could be considered in further research include sex, parental and professional awareness, diet and barriers to physical activity.
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