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Changes in cardiovascular health and physical fitness in ethnic youth with intellectual disabilities participating in a park-based afterschool programme for two years.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Messiah, SE; D'Agostino, EM; Patel, HH; Hansen, E; Mathew, MS; Arheart, KL
Published in: J Appl Res Intellect Disabil
November 2019

BACKGROUND: Youth with intellectual disabilities are more likely to be an unhealthy weight and less physically active than youth without intellectual disability. OBJECTIVE: The effects of Fit2Play, a park-based afterschool programme on cardiovascular/fitness health outcomes among youth with intellectual disability, were prospectively assessed. METHODS: Youth ages 6 to 22 with intellectual disability who participated in Fit2Play for either one or two school years between 2010 and 2016 (N = 297, mean age 14.1 years, 70% Hispanic, 20% non-Hispanic black, 72% male) were examined via a fitness battery at the beginning/end of the school year(s). Effects of length of Fit2Play participation on body mass index (BMI) %ile, skinfold thicknesses, systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) %iles, fitness tests, and health and wellness knowledge) were evaluated via two-level repeated measures analysis adjusted for child gender, age, ethnicity and area-level poverty. RESULTS: Adjusted models showed that up to two years of Fit2Play participation was significantly associated with improved BMI %ile, skinfold thicknesses, SPB/DBP %iles and PACER scores (p < 0.05 for all). One and two years of programme participation was associated with a 6% [95% CI: 0.92, 0.96] and 10% [95% CI: 0.87, 0.93] reduction in SBP%ile, respectively (p < 0.001), and a 36% [95% CI: 1.28, 1.45] and 57% [95% CI: 1.44, 1.70] increase in PACER score laps, respectively, compared to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Results here suggest that park-based, structured afterschool programmes with a focus on health and wellness can be a rich resource for this nation by offering both exclusive and immersion programmes for children with intellectual disability to foster cardiovascular health in all youth.

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Published In

J Appl Res Intellect Disabil

DOI

EISSN

1468-3148

Publication Date

November 2019

Volume

32

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1478 / 1489

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • White People
  • Sports for Persons with Disabilities
  • Schools
  • Rehabilitation
  • Poverty
  • Physical Fitness
  • Pediatric Obesity
  • Parks, Recreational
  • Male
 

Citation

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Messiah, S. E., D’Agostino, E. M., Patel, H. H., Hansen, E., Mathew, M. S., & Arheart, K. L. (2019). Changes in cardiovascular health and physical fitness in ethnic youth with intellectual disabilities participating in a park-based afterschool programme for two years. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil, 32(6), 1478–1489. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12642
Messiah, Sarah E., Emily M. D’Agostino, Hersila H. Patel, Eric Hansen, Matthew Sunil Mathew, and Kristopher L. Arheart. “Changes in cardiovascular health and physical fitness in ethnic youth with intellectual disabilities participating in a park-based afterschool programme for two years.J Appl Res Intellect Disabil 32, no. 6 (November 2019): 1478–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12642.
Messiah SE, D’Agostino EM, Patel HH, Hansen E, Mathew MS, Arheart KL. Changes in cardiovascular health and physical fitness in ethnic youth with intellectual disabilities participating in a park-based afterschool programme for two years. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2019 Nov;32(6):1478–89.
Messiah, Sarah E., et al. “Changes in cardiovascular health and physical fitness in ethnic youth with intellectual disabilities participating in a park-based afterschool programme for two years.J Appl Res Intellect Disabil, vol. 32, no. 6, Nov. 2019, pp. 1478–89. Pubmed, doi:10.1111/jar.12642.
Messiah SE, D’Agostino EM, Patel HH, Hansen E, Mathew MS, Arheart KL. Changes in cardiovascular health and physical fitness in ethnic youth with intellectual disabilities participating in a park-based afterschool programme for two years. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2019 Nov;32(6):1478–1489.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Appl Res Intellect Disabil

DOI

EISSN

1468-3148

Publication Date

November 2019

Volume

32

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1478 / 1489

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • White People
  • Sports for Persons with Disabilities
  • Schools
  • Rehabilitation
  • Poverty
  • Physical Fitness
  • Pediatric Obesity
  • Parks, Recreational
  • Male