Effects of a walking exercise program for obese individuals with intellectual disability staying in a residential care facility

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to confirm the critical importance of active obesity management through a fitness program, and to provide foundational data required for effective obesity management of disabled persons residing in residential carse facilities. [Subjects and Methods] The study period lasted 16 weeks, from August 1 to November 30, 2014. The study participants comprised 9 individuals and they participated in a walking exercise program. An occupational therapist assessed each participant’s body weight, body composition (body mass index [BMI], body fat, and abdominal fat), basic fitness (muscle strength and flexibility), and waist circumference. Collected data were encoded by items and analyzed with SPSS ver.18.0. [Results] It was found that the body weight, body composition (BMI, body fat, and abdominal fat), and waist circumference decreased significantly, while baseline fitness (muscle strength and flexibility) improved significantly. [Conclusion] Obesity management is critically important for intellectually disabled persons residing in residential care facilities. Active care through continuous program implementation is needed. Accordingly, walking exercise programs should be offered to obese intellectually disabled persons residing in residential care facilities.

Weight control behaviors among Koreans

“…Findings suggest obesity management and prevention efforts require multifaceted strategies incorporating education, health policy, public health and health systems, strong primary care workforce, etc 16 ) . The findings suggest that, among Korean, walking exercise programs should be offered to obese and implemented as a continuous program 17 ) . Research found that aerobic exercise reduces weight and improves cardiopulmonary fitness in obese subjects more effectively than anaerobic exercise 18 ) .…”

Sedentary Time, Physical Activity Levels and Physical Fitness in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

“…Therefore, the mechanisms of the exercise effectiveness such as prevention of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress cannot be overlooked. Nevertheless, few PA interventions have resulted in weight loss in youths [ 60 ] or adults with ID [ 61 ], suggesting no salient relationship between PA and BMI in this population. Thus, more studies on the impact of PA on the body composition of adults with ID are required [ 52 ].…”

Effects of an abdominal muscle exercise program in people with intellectual disabilities residing in a residential care facility

“…Increase the physical movement through abdominal muscle exercise has an influence to raise energy consumption and burn the body fat cells. As a result, the weight showed the decrease as much as consumed body fat cells11 ) .…”

“…to 5.6 cm. It has been shown that contraction and relaxation from abdominal muscle exercise improve flexibility 11 ) .…”

“…To measure the weight changes according to the exercise program application, a body composition analyzer, Inbody 230 (Biospace, Seoul, Korea), was used to measure subjects’ weight before the beginning of the exercise program on the basis of the weighing guidelines of Son SM, Jeon BJ, and Kim HJ 11 ) . To minimize measurement errors and accurately measure their weight, the subjects’ weight was measured once a month on the same day of the week at the same time in the morning.…”