Post Covid-19 Outdoor Physical Intervention Effects on Body Composition in Persons With Intellectual Disability

Abstract

In 2021, the Global Wellness Institute demonstrates the growing interest of the entire population in improving of overall health and immune function through various outdoor physical activities. The objective of the study was to exam a potential of outdoor physical activities in relation to the Covid-19 lock down in a group of people with intellectual disability. Material and methods: 50 persons (26 males, 24 females) with mild (15 persons) and moderate (35 persons) intellectual disabilities, aged 18-45, from the Czech Republic, registered in Special Olympics International associations. All subjects were until the physical intervention in Covid-19 lock down regime, i.e. without any indoor or outdoor physical activities. Before the examinations, all participants and their legal representatives signed an informed consent. The Assessment of body composition measured (using Tanita Leicester, and tetrapolar multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance device InBody 230) was used to assess body weight, BMI, body fat percentage and total muscle mass. The 2 weeks outdoor physical intervention focused on fitness improvement was applied. The obtained data were subsequently processed anonymously with security in accordance with the applicable GDPR and Helsinki Declaration directives. During the intervention applied outdoor activities were performed only to the extent appropriate to the physical and mental potential of the participants. Relationships of dependent variables to the sex of the subjects, the experiment, and its individual phases were evaluated by a repeated measures ANOVA model. Results and Conclusions: The intervention led to the significant improvement of body composition, the participants decreased significantly in body fat percentage and increased significantly in muscle mass. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was implemended within the project TAČR STARFOS EF18_053/0016975 "Development of USB - International mobility II" CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_053/0016975-1