Disparities in obesity and related conditions among Americans with disabilities

BACKGROUND: Despite representing nearly 20% of the U.S. population, individuals with disabilities are invisible in obesity surveillance and intervention efforts. PURPOSE: The current study (1) compares obesity and extreme obesity prevalence between Americans with and without disabilities and (2) examines the association between BMI category and weight-related chronic disease risk factors in both groups. METHODS: In 2012, six waves of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 1999-2010) were pooled to compare the prevalence of obesity and extreme obesity between adults (aged ≥20 years, N=31,990) with disabilities (n=11,556) versus without disabilities (n= 20,434). Chronic disease risk factors (blood pressure, lipids, C-reactive protein [CRP], glucose) were compared across weight categories, by disability severity, and disability status. RESULTS: Obesity (41.6%) and extreme obesity (9.3%) prevalence among those with disabilities were significantly higher th