Recorded presentation

Brenda A. Leath, MHSA, Chair, Family Services and Supports Subcommittee, The President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, President/ CEO, National Consortium for African American Children, Inc. (NCAAC), 733 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005, 202-234-5030, leathbrenda757@aol.com

US health care trends reveal growing prevalence rates of excess weight and obesity among our nation’s children and youth between the ages of 6 to 18. Excess weight and obesity among children is often linked to such lifestyle and environmental influences as reduced participation in exercise and recreational activities, greater reliance on vehicular transportation rather than walking, and imbalanced nutritional intake. Compounding their dilemma of excess weight are added risks for chronic health problems such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and osteoarthritis. Such diseases, once considered to be associated with adults, are now surfacing among our child population. For some children with disabilities, matters are further complicated by stigma, limited access to appropriate adaptations and accommodations in recreational spaces, and negative perceptions of their abilities to participate in physical activities and sports. I Can Do It, You Can Do It!, a joint program of the Office on Disability and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, is designed to support good health and physical activity for the 6 million American children and youth who have disabilities. I Can Do It, You Can Do It!, recognizes that physical activity is essential to good health and reflects a critical step towards embracing and accommodating the needs of people with disabilities as part of a national effort to promote physical activity for all Americans.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify various environmental influences on healthy child development;
• Describe the role physical activity and sports can have on weight management and chronic disease prevention among children with disabilities;
• Discuss physical fitness and sports mentoring as a barrier elimination strategy for healthy development among children with disabilities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation