Why the study?
Does an 8-week cardiovascular disease risk reduction program improve BMI in individuals with mental retardation compared to normal learners?
Does an 8-week cardiovascular disease risk reduction program improve BMI in individuals with mental retardation compared to normal learners?
An 8-week cardiovascular risk reduction program was less effective at reducing BMI in individuals with mental retardation compared to normal learners, highlighting the need for tailored interventions in this population.
Program less effective for mental retardation; hypothesis-generating for tailored CVD programs, prospective trials needed.
An evaluation was conducted to compare the impact of an 8-week cardiovascular disease risk reduction group teaching program for 92 individuals with mental retardation (MR; IQ less than 70) and 97 normal learners. The curriculum emphasized exercise, nutritional choices, and stress reduction. Body Mass Index (BMI; weight in kilograms, divided by height in meters, squared), knowledge of healthy eating choices, self-report of fruit and vegetable intake, and exercise were measured before and after the intervention. The mean BMI decreased by .89 for normal learners and not at all for the group with MR. However, BMI decreased by at least .75 units (or approximately 5 pounds) for 18.5% of individuals with MR and 44.3% of normal learners.
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Ewing et al. (2004) studied this question.
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