Chelsey Slattery earned an M.S. in Organizational Leadership from the School of Business Management at National University and a B.S. in Exercise Physiology from California State University, Chico. She has extensive experience directing successful comprehensive, multicomponent nutrition programs through the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR), UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program. She is currently the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences Advisor serving five Northern California Counties.

Background: Children and adolescents with physical and intellectual disabilities tend to have a higher prevalence of obesity compared to their non-disabled peers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity rates for children (ages 2-17) with disabilities are 38% higher than for children without disabilities. This was determined from the results of the 2003-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Obesity and disability are health conditions that have been increasing globally and growing evidence suggests that there is a strong link between the two.