Prevalence of Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Obesity among US Children by the Type of Special Health Care Needs

Objectives: To identify the need for health promotion and obesity prevention programs among Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) by type of special health care need. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using a nationally representative sample of children enrolled in the National Survey of Children's Health 2007. Multivariate regression models were fitted for inadequate physical activity, high screen time, and obesity to determine the differences by the type of CSHCN adjusting for multistage-sampling and survey-design effects. The examined CSHCN were: No-CSHCN, medication only, services use only, medication and service use, and functional limitations. Results: Overall 22.9% of children were CSHCN, of which 9% were in the medication use group, 5% was medication and service use group, and 5% were in the group with functional limitations. Children who use or need medication to control their health care needs are not at increased risk for inadequate physical activity, excess screen time, or obesity. Increased odds of high screen time and obesity occurred in two groups (e service use only group, group with functional limitations), but disappeared after controlling for confounders. The higher odds of inadequate physical activity were noted for service use only group with OR (95% CI) =2.00 (1.34-3.00) and for the functional limitations group with 2.21 (1.55-3.15). Conclusions: Physical activity promotion programs are needed for CSHCN, especially for those with functional limitations and those who do not use prescribed medication.