Structured Exercise Programmes In Promoting Healthy Body Composition In Youths With Intellectual Disabilities
1 Ogbouma, S., 1Abayomi, C. Y., and *2 Oke, K. I.
1Department of Human Kinetics and Sports Science, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
2Department of Physiotherapy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Corresponding Author: kayode.oke@uniben.edu; Tel: +2348023324925
Recieved Date: June, 2020; Accepted Date: June, 2020; Published Date: June, 2020
ABSTRACT
Background: This study was designed to investigate the extent to which structured exercise programmes affect body composition components in persons with intellectual disabilities who are a subgroup of socially vulnerable persons. Materials and Methods: The study was built around some components and derivatives of body composition which are muscle mass, percentage body fat, body weight, and body mass index. The pretest-posttest randomized control group design was employed in the study. It was conducted using 18 persons with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities purposively drawn from a home for the disabled in Benin City. Their ages were between 14 and 19 years. The participants were randomly assigned to either experimental or control group with 9 persons randomly assigned to each of these groups. The experimental group was subjected to a 25 to 30-minute structured exercise programme three times a week for ten weeks. Tested variables were measured using the Omron BF511 body composition monitor. Data generated from the study were analyzed with mean, standard deviation and independent samples t-test using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) application (version 20). Results: Results showed three out of the four tested variables to be statistically significant (body weight: p<0.05; body mass index: p<0.05; percentage body fat: p<0.05), with only one (muscle mass: p>0.05) to be statistically insignificant. Conclusion:It was recommended from the findings from this study that structured exercise programme should be a regular part of the activities of persons with intellectual disabilities in order to address their social vulnerability