Obesity and nutrition: supporting positive dietary behaviour change in people with learning disabilities.

Why you should read this article: • To enhance your knowledge of the causes of, and risk factors for, obesity in people with learning disabilities • To acknowledge the importance of nutrition as a key controllable factor in preventing long-term conditions • To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers) • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers). Obesity is a major global concern and is more common among people with learning disabilities than in the general population. If unmanaged, obesity can lead or contribute to various long-term health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. People with learning disabilities often rely on support staff, families and carers to meet their individual nutritional needs, but care teams and families may lack adequate knowledge of public health recommendations about healthy diet and optimal nutrition. More needs to be done to enhance the diet, and subsequently improve the health outcomes, of people with learning disabilities. This article provides an overview of obesity in people with learning disabilities, including contributing factors, associated health conditions and nutritional considerations. It also details recommendations for nurses to promote a healthy diet and support positive dietary behaviour change in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]