Parent Supported Weight Reduction in Down Syndrome

Children with intellectual disabilities, including Down syndrome (DS), are as likely to be overweight than their typically developing peers. The consequences of childhood obesity include increased risk for Type-2 diabetes, orthopedic problems, sleep apnea, elevated cardiovascular risk and menstrual irregularities. Research indicating a high prevalence of overweight, obesity, low fitness levels and other health problems among adults with DS suggest the need for more attention to health promotion among adolescents with DS, which has been limited to date. Educational interventions in nutrition and physical activity have not been tested through randomized clinical trial with families of adolescents with DS; nor have behavioral "lifestyle change" interventions based on Social Cognitive Theory. Among typical populations, the addition of training in behavior and lifestyle change to education-alone interventions increasingly is being seen as critical in helping to promote long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. The hypothesis of this study is that a parent supported weight reduction (PSWR) intervention that combines behavioral strategies with nutrition and activity education (NAE) will be more effective in reducing overweight in adolescents with DS than a program that provides NAE alone or a Wait-List (WL) control.