Attendance of a resistance-training program in adults with an intellectual disability

Background: To assess which factors influence the overall attendance of a 6-month whole body progressive resistance exercise training (PRET) program for adults with an intellectual disability (ID) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Method: Twenty-four adults with a mild or moderate ID with at least one CVD risk factor (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and/or overweight/obesity) exercised twice a week for one hour for 24 weeks. The PRET program consisted of a whole-body workout of seven resistance exercises. After a familiarization phase, the training intensity was increased from novice level to vigorous intensity. Every training session, the attendance or absence was noted, along with the reason for absence. At the end of the program we asked about the participant's experiences with the PRET program with a questionnaire. This information was used to gain more insight in the factors influencing attendance.

Results: The factors influencing the overall attendance or absence of a training session of the PRET-program will be presented. (Results available in May 2018).

Conclusion: The results from this study can be used as a practice based outline for future intervention studies and/or in daily practice when conducting health programs at both individual and group level for adults with ID.