Aerobic capacity of adults with intellectual disabilities.

INTRODUCTION: Physical fitness is a resultant of the efficiency of adaptive mechanisms for physical effort. People with intellectual disabilities may exhibit limited adaptive capacities, not only regarding their mental development, but also physiological, social and emotional development. Dysfunctions of the central nervous system observed in individuals with intellectual disabilities cause difficulties in gaining movement experience as well as problems with coordination and kinesthetic sense. Thus, intellectual disability might cause low physical activity and, consequently, low physical fitness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present investigations was to evaluate aerobic capacity of intellectually disabled adults and determine its potential relationships with the degree of intellectual disability, somatic parameters, age and gender. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study group consisted of 85 intellectually disabled adults aged 20 to 40 years. The investigations were based on direct observation of the participants. The following somatic parameters were measured: body height and weight, waist and hip circumference, body fat percentage, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio. Physical fitness was evaluated based on PWC170; VO2max was also calculated. Qualitative assessment of physical fitness level was carried out using Astrand's classification (with respect to age and gender). RESULTS: 30% of women and 46.3% of men had very low level of aerobic capacity. Absolute values of PWC170 and VO2max were significantly higher in men. However, relative values expressed in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight did not reveal statistically significant inter-gender differences. Age and degree of intellectual disability did not significantly influence the level of physical fitness. Multiple regression analysis to estimate VO2max/kg revealed a negative correlation with %FAT and WHR. CONCLUSIONS: 1. A large sample of the study population (30% female, 46,3% male) showed very low levels of aerobic capacity. 2. Our investigations did not demonstrate a relationship between physical fitness and age or the degree of intellectual disability. Gender turned out to be a differentiating factor but only for the absolute PWC170 and VO2max. 3. The level of physical fitness was significantly related to somatic parameters including body mass, waist and hips circumference, percentage of body fat, BMI and WHR.

Effects of a low carbohydrate diet and graded exercise during the follicular and luteal phases on the blood antioxidant status in healthy women.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a low-carbohydrate (L-CHO) diet and graded cycling exercise on the enzymatic and non-enzymatic blood antioxidant defence system in young eumenorrhoeic women. Seven healthy physical education students exercised incrementally until they were fatigued under four different phase-diet conditions of the menstrual cycle, i.e. twice either during the mid-follicular or the mid-luteal phase, in each case either after 3 days of eating a normal mixed diet (59% carbohydrate, 27% fat, 14% protein) or 3 days of eating an isoenergy L-CHO diet (5% carbohydrate, 52% fat, 43% protein). In venous blood samples obtained at rest, immediately post test and during recovery, the activity of antioxidant enzymes and concentrations of reduced glutathione and selenium were determined. Plasma samples were analysed for concentrations of malondialdehyde, vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), uric acid and activity of creatine kinase. The 3 days of the L-CHO diet, which had been preceded by glycogen-depleting exercise, resulted in a stimulation of the blood antioxidant defence system in young eumenorrhoeic women both at rest and during the graded cycling exercise to maximal oxygen uptake. It seems justified to presume that higher daily doses of haem iron, selenium and alpha-tocopherol provided by the L-CHO diet contributed to the enhancement of catalase activity, the rise in plasma concentrations of alpha-tocopherol and selenium, which resulted in better protection of the cell membranes against damage from peroxides, as reflected by a limited release of creatine kinase into plasma. With the exception of the case of glutathione reductase, the phases of the menstrual cycle had only minor effects on the indices of the blood antioxidant defence system.