| Description |
Obesity prevalence is soaring among adolescents and young adults. Adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities are no exception. In fact, they are more physically inactive, have lower cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and higher body mass indexes (BMI) than their nondisabled peers. In addition, they have less differentiated and more global self-concepts than their age-matched peers without intellectual disabilities. The present study examined the effects of an 8-week Achilles Kids guided running program on 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), resting heart rate (RHR), BMI, waist circumference (WC), and global self-concept (GSC) for nine adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities. It was hypothesized that there would be greater improvements in 6MWD, RHR, BMI, and WC after 8 weeks of the guided running program than after 8 weeks of the usual adapted physical education program. Additionally, it was hypothesized that there would be a treatment phase by time interaction such that eight weekly bouts of running exercise would yield a greater increase in global self-concept than eight weekly classes of adapted physical education. Through the use of a split-plot middle graphing technique, this study found that seven of the nine participants had evidence of some intervention-related improvement in 6MWD, RHR, or WC (p ≤ 0.031). Study participants, on average, spent 77% of their sampled exercise bouts within the THRZ during the intervention phase and only 39% of their sampled exercise bouts within the THRZ during the control phase. There was a significant two-way interaction between the experimental phase and acute exercise in the "I want to stay as I am" global self-concept item (p = 0.04), such that the exercise bouts yielded a greater increase in the second global self-concept item during the intervention than during the control phase. The conclusion is that the Achilles Kids guided running program may help to improve the health-related fitness and global self-concept of adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities. However, future trials of longer duration, in multiple schools, and with progressively increasing doses of exercise are needed to fully document the efficacy and effectiveness of the Achilles Kids program. |
