Nutrición y rendimiento en atletas con discapacidad intelectualy conocimientos de sus cuidadores / Nutrition and physical performance in athletes with intellectual disability and knowledge level of their caregivers

ABSTRACT

Introduction: It has been proven that the population with intellectual disability presents health and nutrition risk factors; however, there are only a few studies that characterize this problematic situation. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the food consumption, nutritional diagnosis, physical performance and hydration status of 179 athletes with intellectual disability affiliated to the Guanajuato Special Olympics, from nine cities, as well as the knowledge level and hydration habits of parents or caregivers. Methodology: A descriptive, prospective and transversal study has been con ducted. Food consumption was obtained through a validated semi-quantitative questionnaire; the nutrition diagnosis was determined by anthropometric parameters; physical performance was evaluated by the tests DIDEFI®; the hydration status was calculated by urinary density using a refractometer; and the knowledge level, hydration and nutrition habits of the caregivers were assessed by two validated questionnaires. Results: The age group 11 to 20 years has the highest calorie and macronutrient ingestion. In relation to the nutritional status 43.6% is overweight in some degree and 4.5% underweight. A tendency was found in the physical tests to monotonic growth in hand strength and abdominals per minute, a parabolic tendency in horizontal jump and a random representation in trunk flexion. 56.42% of the athletes presented dehydration. Regarding the parents/caregivers, their average knowledge was higher than their grade in the hydration habits questionnaire, with a significant statistics difference. Conclusions: The athletes with intellectual disabilities must be considered as a risk group because of factors such as alterations in weight and dehydration, as well as their parents’/caregivers’ lack of knowledge in nutrition and hydration, which could risk their health and physical performance.