Effects of School-Based Cardiovascular-Fitness Training in Children with Mental Retardation

Özmen, Tarık; Yıldırım, Necmiye Ün; Yüktaşir, Bekir; Beets, Michael W.

doi:10.1123/pes.19.2.171

Cited by 31 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This 14‐week aquatic aerobic exercise program was effective in improving cardiorespiratory endurance as demonstrated by significantly improved times on the half‐mile walk/run. This finding is consistent with other land‐based aerobic exercise programs for children with CP, 6 autism, 13 and mental retardation 9 . In addition, improvement in exercise capacity was demonstrated by an increased ability to exercise for longer periods in their target HR zone and an increased number of laps that children could swim in 20 minutes over the course of the intervention phase.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Group aquatic aerobic exercise for children with disabilities

Fragala-Pinkham

Haley

O’Neil

2008

Develop Med Child Neuro

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effectiveness and safety of a group aquatic aerobic exercise program on cardiorespiratory endurance for children with disabilities was examined using an A-B study design. Sixteen children (11 males, five females) age range 6 to 11 years (mean age 9y 7mo [SD 1y 4mo]) participated in this twice-per-week program lasting 14 weeks. The children's diagnoses included autism spectrum disorder, myelomeningocele, cerebral palsy, or other developmental disability. More than half of the children ambulated independently without aids. Children swam laps and participated in relay races and games with a focus of maintaining a defined target heart rate zone. The strengthening component consisted of exercises using bar bells, aquatic noodles, and water resistance. The following outcomes were measured: half-mile walk ⁄ run, isometric muscle strength, timed floor to stand 3-meter test, and motor skills. Complaints of pain or injury were systematically collected. Significant improvements in the half-mile walk ⁄ run were observed, but not for secondary outcomes of strength or motor skills. The mean program attendance was 80%, and no injury was reported. Children with disabilities may improve their cardiorespiratory endurance after a group aquatic aerobic exercise program with a high adult:child ratio and specific goals to maintain training heart rates.Over the past decade, increasing attention has focused on the importance of physical fitness in the promotion of health in children. Cardiorespiratory endurance is a component of health-related physical fitness and it is dependent on the function of the respiratory, cardiovascular, and skeletal muscle systems. Children with cerebral palsy (CP), Down syndrome, myelomeningocele, and autism spectrum disorders typically have decreased cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength, balance, coordination, and motor skills.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Group aquatic aerobic exercise for children with disabilities

Fragala-Pinkham

Haley

O’Neil

2008

Develop Med Child Neuro

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The small heterogeneous sample reflects the size and great variability that may be found in a variety of community settings featuring adults with ID including group homes. Results concurred with findings from exercise alone interventions, which have also been unable to significantly reduce percent body fat among individuals with ID according to various methods of measurement (Pitetti and Tan, 1991; Pommering et al, 1994; Ozmen et al, 2007). Participants did, however, maintain pretest levels of body fat and did not experience a significant increase in body fat as had been the case in certain exercise only studies (Casey et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Despite the benefits of physical activity, limited findings thus far including a recent study adopting aquatic exercise suggest that exercise training alone may not be effective at reducing the percent body fat of individuals with ID (Pitetti and Tan, 1991; Pommering et al, 1994; Ozmen et al, 2007; Casey et al, 2010). Few studies have produced change (Ordonez et al, 2006) and this pattern may be partially explained by inconsistent methods of measurement as only the latter study used a complex tool such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to gauge the effectiveness of exercise training.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry to Measure the Effects of a Thirteen-Week Moderate to Vigorous Aquatic Exercise and Nutritional Education Intervention on Percent Body Fat in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities from Group Home Settings

Casey

Boyd

MacKenzie

et al. 2012

Journal of Human Kinetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

People with intellectual disability are more likely to be obese and extremely obese than people without intellectual disability with rates remaining elevated among adults, women and individuals living in community settings. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measured the effects of a 13-week aquatic exercise and nutrition intervention on percent body fat in eight adults with intellectual disabilities (aged 41.0 ± 13.7 yrs) of varying fat levels (15%–39%) from two group homes. A moderate to vigorous aquatic exercise program lasted for the duration of 13 weeks with three, one-hour sessions held at a 25m pool each week. Nutritional assistants educated participants as to the importance of food choice and portion size. A two-tailed Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test determined the impact of the combined intervention on body fat percentage and BMI at pre and post test. Median body fat percentage (0.8 %) and BMI (0.3 kg/m2) decreased following the exercise intervention, but neither were statistically significant, p = .11 and p = .55, respectively. The combined intervention was ineffective at reducing percent body fat in adults with intellectual disability according to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. These results are in agreement with findings from exercise alone interventions and suggest that more stringent nutritional guidelines are needed for this population and especially for individuals living in group home settings. The study did show that adults with intellectual disability may participate in moderate to vigorous physical activity when given the opportunity.

show abstract

“…Results with regards to changes in body fat percentage following periods of exercise training also remain far from definitive. A minority of studies have produced statistically significant positive changes in body fat (Ordonez et al 2006;Wu 2010) and lean mass (Elmahgoub et al 2009;, but the majority of studies have resulted in no change in samples featuring children, adults as well as individuals with Down syndrome (Casey et al 2010;Ozmen et al 2007;Pitetti and Tan 1991;González-Aguero et al 2011). It is possible that in these studies caloric expenditure did not exceed caloric intake, suggesting that exercisers with ID were unable to strike a successful balance between calories burnt and consumed throughout the different intervention studies.…”

Section: Behavioral Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%