A person with a disability may become increasingly disabled as they age. A second person may not have a disability and acquire as they become older, for example, loss of sight or a limb as a result of diabetes, or a limited ability to walk more than short distances due to heart and lung problems.
No matter whether you begin life with a disability or if you become disabled later in life, there is absolutely no reason not to be as healthy as you can possibly be. This is a strange way to think for some people. "How can you be healthy and disabled, or healthy and chronically ill?"
Think of it this way, you may have diabetes or use a wheelchair. One day you fall and break your arm. At least temporarily, you are in more pain and able to do less than you were previously. If you already had a disability, this impact on your health is even more of a problem than it would be for a person without a disability. People with disabilities need to consider the same means of maintaining their health as everyone else, and they may also need to take other steps as related to their disability.
The four major concerns to maintaining health are lifestyle ones. These include obesity, physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol abuse.
1. Obesity Obesity is having a high amount of body fat. People who are obese are 30 pounds or more over what their weight should be for their height.
As we say again and again in our training, a person who has a disability or chronic health condition should still try to be as health as he or she can. That means getting enough exercise, enough nutrition and staying at a healthy weight.
WHY BEING OVERWEIGHT IS A PROBLEM
Being obese causes more health problems than smoking or drinking.
- “Severely obese people (100 pounds overweight) are more than twice as likely as people of normal weight to be in fair or poor health and have about twice as many chronic medical conditions. …
- Weight also has a dramatic effect on people’s ability to manage five basic activities of daily living: bathing, eating, dressing, walking across a room, and getting in or out of bed.”
- People who are severely obese are SIX TIMES as likely to have a problem with activities of daily living as people of average weight.
- Obesity is a major cause of chronic back pain.
- Obesity is a factor in the development of diabetes.
OBESITY AND DISABILITY
People with disabilities are much more likely to be obese than those without disabilities. This is especially true for people who have difficulty walking or moving on their own.
This is an important area for staff and family members to be involved, because this is one place where a difference can be made through diet and exercise.
Source: Rand Corporation (2004). Obesity and disability: The shape of things to come.
Physical Activity: Get healthy, get out there!