Effects of school-based cardiovascular-fitness training in children with mental retardation.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a school-based cardiovascular-fitness-training program in children with mental retardation (MR). Thirty boys (8-15 years old) with mild to moderate mental retardation were randomly divided into 2 groups--experimental (EX) and control (CN). The EX group underwent 10 weeks of training 3 times/week for a duration of 1 hr/session at 60-80% peak heart rate. At Week 10, significant increases in 20-m shuttle-run-test (20-MST) laps were observed for the EX group. No improvements were found in percent body fat. No changes were observed for the CN. The school-based training program might prove useful in improving the cardiovascular fitness of children with MR.
Ozmen
Tarik
T
School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Abant Izzet Baysal University, 14280 Bolu, Turkey. tarik_ozmen@ibu.edu.tr
Ryildirim
Necmiye Un
NU
Yuktasir
Bekir
B
Beets
Michael W
MW
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*