Frequency of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents with autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

• Autor(a) principal: Arthur Melo e Kummer
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Izabela Guimarães Barbosa, David Henrique Rodrigues, Natália Pessoa Rocha, Marianna da Silva Rafael, Larissa Pfeilsticker, Ana Cristina Simões e Silva, Antônio Lúcio Teixeira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rppede.2015.12.006; http://hdl.handle.net/1843/56292
• topic: Attention deficit and hyperactivity; Austistic disorder; Pediatric obesity; Overweight; Transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade; Obesidade Infantil; Sobrepeso

Objective: To assess the frequency of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their parents, in comparison with children and adolescents without developmental disorders. Methods: Anthropometric measures were obtained in 69 outpatients with ASD (8.4±4.2 years old), 23 with ADHD (8.5±2.4) and 19 controls without developmental disorders (8.6±2.9) between August and November 2014. Parents of patients with ASD and ADHD also had their anthropometric parameters taken. Overweight was defined as a percentile ≥85; obesity as a percentile ≥95; and underweight as a percentile ≤5. For adults, overweight was defined as a BMI between 25 and 30kg/m2 and obesity as a BMI higher than 30kg/m2.Results: Children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD had higher BMI percentile (p<0.01) and z-score (p<0.01) than controls, and increased frequency of overweight and obesity (p=0.04). Patients with ASD and ADHD did not differ between them in these variables, nor regarding abdominal circumference. Parents of children with ASD and ADHD did not differ between themselves. Conclusions: Children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD are at a higher risk of overweight and obesity than children without developmental problems in the community.