User:U31012783/Increasing Aerobic Capacity and Muscular Strength/Endurance in Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

This is a review of the research paper “Increasing Aerobic Capacity and Muscular Strength/Endurance in Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities” by Kyla Collins and Kerri Staples. The page has been created by student U3101273

What are intellectual and developmental disabilities?

(1)

Research Background

The aim of this research was to improve the level of physical fitness of children aged 7-12 who are diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The reason for this research is because one in three children in North America are considered overweight or obese and children who are diagnosed with IDD are at an even higher risk of being overweight or obese.

Where is the research from?

The research was conducted as part of Kyla Collins’ honours thesis at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

What kind of research was this?

This is an applied research study, which aims to examine the physical fitness levels of 7-12 year old children with IDD. The children participated based on a parent report which indicates deficits in general cognitive abilities including social communications, functioning in school, independent self care or participation in sports or activities

What did the research involve?


 * 35 children with IDD (25 boys, 10 girls aged 7-12)
 * 10 week program for a total of 15 hours of instruction
 * The children participated in the Brockport Physical Fitness Test to provide both general standards or healthy fitness zones that reflect a level of performance that is associated with health benefits and specific standards or fitness zones that have been adapted for children with a variety of disabilities, including intellectual disability (2)
 * To measure aerobic fitness the participants completed a 20-meter PACER test, also known as the beep test, which involves the participants running between 2 cones, 20 meters apart at a specific pace that increased each minute.
 * The children then participated once a week in a 90-minute, structured physical activity program for ten weeks. The children were divided into four teams according to age and motor competence, with a no higher ratio of 1:3, coach to child ratio for any given activity. The program focused on two different sports each week where the coaches could progress fundamental movement skills as the children became more competent with the movements.

What were the basic results?

Following participation in the 10-week physical activity program, based on the completion of the 20m shuttle run test there was a clear improvement in aerobic capacity amongst almost all participants with 26 participants increasing the number of shuttles each participant could complete whilst only 6 participants showed no change and 3 participants scores decreased. The muscular strength and endurance also showed significant improvements following the 10-week program and as a result, the increased levels of fitness during childhood are associated with decreased adiposity during adolescence (3), which becomes an important consideration decreasing the prevalence of obesity in children with IDD.

What conclusions can we take from this research?

That in just the small space of 10 weeks, with a total of 15 hours of guided physical activity; significant improvements can be made in both muscular strength and endurance along with aerobic capacities.

Practical advice

For any persons who may have a prevalence of IDD, a short-term physical activity program such as this will not help to prevent potential obesity in the future. A long term program would need to be implemented for a person see any significant changes in body composition.

Further information/resources


 * Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/idds/conditioninfo/Pages/default.aspx
 * Strength Training in Children and Adolescents- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445252/
 * Obesity information- https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics/behaviours-risk-factors/overweight-obesity/overview

References

1. Bock, R, 'Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities' (Fact Sheet 2010)  accessed September 2017

2. Winnick, J. P., & Short, F. X. (2014). The Brockport physical fitness test (2nd ed.). Urbana: Sagamore Publishing. Wouters, M., Evenhuis, H. M., & Hilgenkamp, T. I. M. (2017). Systematic review of field-based physical fitness tests for children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 61, 77–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2016.12.016.

3. Rodrigues, L. P., Leitão, R., & Lopes, V. P. (2013). Physical fitness predicts adiposity longitudinal changes over childhood and adolescence. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 16, 118–123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.06.008.

The original research paper can be found here - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422217301932