Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Physical Activity As A Predictor Of Obesity In Autistic Children, Cody A. Mullins

MSU Graduate Theses

Research has found autistic children to be 40% more likely to be obese compared to their non-autistic peers. Reduced physical activity (PA) is thought to be a contributing factor to the increased prevalence of obesity in autistic children. This was one of the first studies to investigate the PA behaviors of autistic children during an adapted physical education (APE) class using accelerometry. The purpose of this study was to examine the PA of autistic children and determine the relationship between PA and obesity. Participants were recruited from a school for students with disabilities who participate in a once-weekly APE class …