TITLE:
Effects of an Adapted Physical Activity Program on Physical Fitness of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
AUTHORS:
Katerina Asonitou, Thomas Mpampoulis, Helen Irakleous-Paleologou, Dimitra Koutsouki
KEYWORDS:
Intellectual Disability (ID), Exercise Intervention Program, Adapted Physical Activity, Eurofit Physical Fitness Test Battery, Quality of Life
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.8 No.3,
August
28,
2018
ABSTRACT: People with Intellectual Disability (ID) constitute a vulnerable social group, making their physical health improvement a primary concern to all involved with their care. We constructed and evaluated a physical training intervention conducted twice per week for 4 consecutive months, consisting of activities and games to improve muscle strength, speed, balance and flexibility. Participants were 38 adults with intellectual disabilities divided into two groups:1) the intervention group (n = 19) who participated in exercise training; and2) the control group (n = 19) who engaged in no exercise training. All participants were evaluated on seven physical fitness tests, before and after implementation of the four-month training program. The present study was designed to improve certain aspects of fitness among adults with mild ID. The results showed that the mean anthropometric characteristics suggestive of better health and all physical fitness measures for the intervention group were reflected positive improvements at post-tests. The study showed that a structural physical exercise program can improve physical fitness of adults with mild intellectual disabilities, especially muscle strength and endurance, balance, flexibility, speed and cardio-respiratory endurance, in order to promote a more active and healthier way of life.