Increasing Parents\u27 Knowledge of a Healthy Lifestyle for Children with Down Syndrome

Maintaining a healthy diet is a struggle for the general US population, and it is a particular problem for the special needs population. Children with Down Syndrome have higher rates of obesity than the general population. One reason for this is that their metabolic rate tends to be slower than that of the general population (Magge et al., 2008). Also, they have a genetic predisposition for leptin resistance. Therefore, it is important that these children eat healthy meals and be physically active on a daily basis. For my capstone project, I presented a workshop to parents of children with Down Syndrome at Seaside Middle School in California. I covered information on nutrition, physical exercise, and how to make healthy foods more appealing to children with Down Syndrome