Objective  To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) in Beijing, and to provide a basis for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in the population.

  Methods  We recruited 343 students aged 6 – 18 years with random cluster sampling in 15 special education schools in Beijing between September 2014 and January 2015. Weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for the students. Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC) criteria were used to define overweight and obesity.

  Results  For all the students, the overweight rate was 21.57% (24.14% and 13.41% for the boys and the girls), with a significant gender difference (P < 0.05); the obesity rate were 22.74% (24.52% and 17.07% for the boys and the girls), without significant gender difference. The overweight rate was the highest (26.83%) for the students aged 10 – 12 years and the obesity rate was the highest (36.54%) for the students aged 6 – 9 years, with significant between age-group differences in both overweight rate and obesity rate (both P < 0.05). The detection rate of overweight and obesity presented a downward trend with the age increment in the students. No significant difference in overweight rate was observed among the students with various severity of ID, although the overweight rate was higher (20.93%) among the students with moderate ID; but the obesity rate differed significantly by the severity of ID among the students, with the highest rate (33.33%) among those with mild ID (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  The detection rates of overweight and obesity in ID children and adolescents in Beijing were high, especially among young age groups. Intervention programs need to be conducted by relevant agencies to control overweight and obesity in the population.