Diet quality among people with intellectual disabilities and borderline intellectual functioning.
David A A Gast, Gabriela L C de Wit, Amber van Hoof and 4 others
PMID 34704323WHAT IT FOUND
People with intellectual disabilities scored 30 points lower on diet quality than controls.
Men and those with mild disabilities or borderline functioning had the poorest diets. Staff support alone may not fix this; structural changes in care are needed.
Key findings
01The group with intellectual disabilities had a mean diet quality score of 80.9 compared to 111.2 in controls, a difference of 30 points.
02Participants with mild intellectual disabilities and borderline intellectual functioning had significantly lower diet quality scores than those with severe to profound disabilities.
03The poorest adherence to dietary guidelines was seen in unhealthy choices, nuts, tea, processed meats, sweetened beverages and fish.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The intellectual disability group was recruited for a study on aggression and may not represent the broader population. Data collection methods differed: participants with intellectual disabilities often used paper forms assisted by staff, while controls used online self-report, introducing potential bias. The questionnaire is a screener and relies on recall of the preceding month, which may be inaccurate. Intellectual disability severity was classified by IQ alone, which is considered outdated compared to including adaptive functioning. The control group may have self-selected for a healthier lifestyle, potentially exaggerating the difference.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The study was part of a larger project investigating nutritional supplementation for aggressive behaviour, funded by clinicalTrials.gov registration NCT03212092.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that people with more severe intellectual disabilities have worse diets. This study found the opposite: those with mild intellectual disabilities and borderline functioning had the lowest diet quality scores, likely because they have more autonomy but less effective support for healthy choices.