Abstract

People with disabilities can carry a greater burden of disease than the general population in their motor functions, as described by the World Health Organization. Childhood obesity in Chile has been recognized as a priority public health problem. The epidemiological situation suggests the case of Chile, where the indices of sedentary lifestyle, according to the National Health Survey, are equal to 89.2% and the prevalence of obesity is 67%. The prevalence of childhood obesity in Chile has tripled in the last two decades; in first grade elementary students, it increased from 7% in 1987 to 18.5% in 2005. The Chilean Ministry of Education is concerned about the levels of physical inactivity and its consequences on the diminished motor functions of children and adolescents with disabilities or phenotypic peculiarities such as indigenous descent, which would make it difficult to access the activities of the physical education class in equal conditions that the rest of the student body. Currently Chile's curriculum in the area of Physical Education and Health is making the appropriate adaptations for a more inclusive class, but efforts are not enough.