ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND EATING HABITS OF INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED ADULTS (20–35 YEARS)
Keywords:
Intellectual disability,, Adults,, Nutritional status,, Body mass index,, Underweight,, Obese,, Eating habitsAbstract
Objectives: The present study was aimed to assess the nutritional status and eating habits of intellectually disabled adults between 20 and 35 years of age.
Methods: The study was conducted at special institutes for intellectually disabled individuals, situated in Hyderabad. The data were collected from 105 intellectually disabled adults through specially formulated questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were taken to assess their body mass index (BMI). The data were compiled using MS Excel. Percentage analysis was performed to study the nutritional status and eating habits and conclusion was made.
Results: The study revealed – a significant presence of malnutrition (40%) and overweight being highest (16%) followed by obesity (12%) and underweight (12%). The presence of overweight and obesity was higher in females (19% and 16%, respectively) than males (13% and 11%, respectively). The presence of Down syndrome was highest among obese (54%) followed by overweight adults (19%). Irregular eating was highest in underweight group (61%) and frequent eating was highest in obese group (54%). Skipping meals daily (8%) and frequently (69%) were highest in underweight and no meal skipping was seen highly in obese (69%) followed by overweight group (19%).
Conclusion: The present study concluded that adults with intellectual disability have poor nutritional status and eating habits, especially among underweight, overweight, and obese group when compared to the adults with normal BMI, which could be one of the reasons for their poor nutritional status.
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