A pilot study of enhanced operation fit: The feasibility of a camp‐based health intervention for ethnically diverse families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities

• DOI: 10.1111/jar.12832
• Publication Date: 2020-11-25T06:47:16Z
• Authors: Catherine M. Sanner; Cameron L. Neece; Sylvia Herbozo; Marti F. Baum
• Keywords: Male; Parents; 0301 basic medicine; 2. Zero hunger; Developmental Disabilities; Pilot Projects; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Intellectual Disability; Feasibility Studies; Humans; Female; Child

AbstractBackgroundObesity rates are higher in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (DD) compared to typically developing (TD) children. In TD children, family‐based (FB) interventions for obesity are the most effective interventions. Research addressing obesity interventions for children with IDD is limited.MethodWe adapted a community‐based obesity intervention created for TD children for children with IDD and added a parent education component. The current study examined the feasibility of Enhanced‐Operation Fit, a camp‐based intervention created in order to reduce weight, and improve health behavior outcomes. Participants were 16 children (68.8% male; Mage = 13.15, SDage = 1.62) and their parents.ResultsResults indicated that incorporating a daily parent education group limited recruitment potential, but showed promising preliminary improvements in parent feeding and child eating behaviors.ConclusionsHealth interventions for children with IDD are greatly needed and the current study may be a cost and time‐efficient intervention to help address this public health crisis.