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Evaluation of a Comprehensive Health-Wellness Intervention on Weight and BMI of Residential Students with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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Abstract

Many children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders and intellectual and developmental disabilities are overweight and obese, presenting with health risks and poor quality of life. In this study we incorporated a non-concurrent multiple baseline design to evaluate a health and wellness intervention that targeted weight and body mass index (BMI) of five students (11–19 years old) attending a residential school. Intervention was designed and evaluated by a multidisciplinary team comprised of a dietician, nurses, physicians, behavior analysts, educators, and information technology specialists. The key areas of intervention were diet-nutrition, exercise-physical activity, health informatics monitoring, and care provider training. All of the students were classified as obese upon admission to the residential school, achieved normative BMI measures (non-obese) for age and gender within 2–4 months of intervention, and maintained weight loss during periods lasting 16–30 months. Issues of intervention implementation, clinical recommendations, and future research are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Development and Research, Melmark New England, 461 River Road, Andover, MA, 01810, USA

    Andrew Shlesinger, Frank Bird, Kimberly Duhanyan, Jill M. Harper & James K. Luiselli

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  1. Andrew Shlesinger
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  2. Frank Bird
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  3. Kimberly Duhanyan
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  4. Jill M. Harper
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  5. James K. Luiselli
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Correspondence to James K. Luiselli.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Informed consent was obtained from the parents of all participants in the study.

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Shlesinger, A., Bird, F., Duhanyan, K. et al. Evaluation of a Comprehensive Health-Wellness Intervention on Weight and BMI of Residential Students with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Adv Neurodev Disord 2, 425–432 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-018-0081-5

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