The association between familial socioeconomic status and child obesity has created the expectation that low familial income increases the risk of child obesity. Yet, there is very little evidence in the United Kingdom to suggest that this is the case. This article focuses on whether low familial income and family poverty are associated with an…

Background: Previous studies in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) have reported a higher prevalence of obesity than in the general population, and a trend to an increase in the prevalence of excess weight. However, little information is available on body weight status and lipids levels of adults with ID and co-existing mental illness. The…

Recent work in human geography has begun to explore the fluidity of bodily boundaries and to foreground the connectedness of bodies to other bodies/objects/places. Across multiple subdisciplinary areas, including health, children's and feminist geographies, geographers have begun to challenge the notion of a singular, bounded body by highlighting…

Background: Recent research evidence from the general population has shown that tobacco smoking and raised body mass index (BMI) are associated with worse asthma outcomes. There are indications that asthma morbidity and mortality may be higher among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) than the general population, but the reason for this is…

Background: Obesity prevalence is unusually high among adults with intellectual disability (ID). There is limited and conflicting evidence on obesity prevalence among ambulatory children and adolescents with ID. The present study aimed to estimate obesity prevalence in this group and to compare with population prevalence. Methods: Survey of nine…

Objective: To explore the perceptions of physical activity and healthy eating among children from two north west of England primary schools, with the ultimate aim of improving healthy lifestyle choices. Design: A qualitative study in which each child participated in two focus groups. Setting: Two primary schools in a deprived ward of Warrington,…

This study assessed the percent body fatness of British secondary school children and examined any variation in fatness according to school year, gender and ethnicity. 782 children aged 11 to 14 participated in the study. Body fatness was assessed using skinfold measures and obesity was classified using child-specific cut-off points. Results from…