Reduction measures and percent body fat in individuals with intellectual disabilities: A scoping review

BackgroundIndividuals with intellectual disability (ID) may be more obese and extremely obese than individuals without ID. There remains an on-going debate as to the effectiveness of exercise training in decreasing body fat in different populations.ObjectiveThis scoping review explored the effects of exercise training interventions on percent body fat in individuals with ID.MethodsAuthors conducted electronic searches through PubMED (1978 to present) and SPORT Discus (1975 to present) and evaluated relevant articles independently based on guidelines for scoping reviews.ResultsFew exercise interventions have targeted changes in percent body fat. Based on the 11 articles identified, exercise interventions appear effective at maintaining fat levels but have been largely unsuccessful at reducing body fat following training. Only 18% of exercise alone studies produced positive changes in body fat outcomes among individuals with ID.ConclusionsGreater focus should be placed on the metabolic health of individuals with ID. Results call into question methods used to date. These findings may be a consequence of the minimal attention paid to nutritional status and also a lack of standardized anthropometric methods and acceptable guidelines for categorizing adiposity based on health risk in this population. Further research is needed to promote more effective and sustainable strategies aimed at combating the elevated levels of body fat.