A Survey of the Nutritional Status of Adults and Children Using the Learning Disability Services of a Health Trust

A survey of the body mass indices (BMIs) of 101 child and adult users of the learning disability services of a Health Trust in the UK was carried out. It was found that 61.3 percent of the children and 27.1 percent of the adults were underweight, with BMIs below 20. Being underweight was associated with profound and multiple disability, the need for food supplements, a history of difficulty in maintaining body weight, and carers’ perception that the individual was difficult to give food or drink to. A significant difference was found between the BMIs of children and adults. No difference was found between the sexes or between full-time and short-term users of health services. A discussion of the possible implications of the findings and indications for future research is given.