Children with Down syndrome (DS), the most common cause of developmental disability in the United States, are living longer, thanks to medical technology and procedures. In addition, now there is more focus on helping kids with Down syndrome live healthier lives, too, especially when it comes to helping them manage their weight. Many children with Down syndrome are overweight or obese, and it's not clear whether this is directly due to their disabilities or other factors. Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia studied how parents' habits may influence the eating routines of children with Down syndrome.
A group of 36 families with two children between 3 and 10 years of age - one child with Down syndrome and one nondisabled child - participated in the nutrition study. Parents completed questionnaires about their feelings, habits, and attitudes regarding nutrition for their child with Down syndrome and his or her sibling. Parents noted whether they thought their children were overweight, whether they felt responsible for determining their children's portion sizes, and whether they restricted the quantity of their children's food. The children in the study, in addition to being weighed and measured, wore activity monitors for a week to identify how much exercise they engaged in daily.
Children with Down syndrome tended to be heavier than their siblings, but overall, parents didn't see a difference in weight status when comparing their two children. On the questionnaires, parents said they felt more responsibility for feeding their children with Down syndrome; they also felt more concerned about the weight of their child with Down syndrome. At mealtimes, parents restricted food more often in children with Down syndrome and were less likely to pressure them to eat than their siblings. Researchers also discovered that parental concern about a child's weight was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI, a measure of body fatness) in the child. In contrast, pressuring children with Down syndrome to eat was associated with a lower BMI.
What This Means to You: Children with Down syndrome are at increased risk for becoming overweight, in part due to lower physical activity levels. But parental attitudes and nutrition habits may also play a role. In this study, parents were more likely to practice food restriction - a habit that's known to increase the risk of overeating - with their children with Down syndrome than with the child's nondisabled sibling.
What can you do? Because food restriction may backfire, try this tactic. Offer your child a variety of healthy foods - especially vegetables, fruits, grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy products - and allow him or her to decide how much to eat. And since kids with Down syndrome may get less physical activity, limit sedentary activities (like TV watching) and encourage active play, like walking, bike riding, and swimming. Finally, let your children know you love them - no matter what their weight - and that you want to help them be happy and healthy.
Source: Kristen L. O'Neill, MS; Justine Shults, PhD; Virginia A. Stallings, MD; Nicolas Stettler, MD, MSCE; Journal of Pediatrics, February 2005
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: February 2004
