Effectiveness of a cross-circuit exercise training program in improving the fitness of overweight or obese adolescents with intellectual disability enrolled in special education schools.
Three 50-minute cross-circuit classes a week at school can lower BMI and boost heart health in overweight teens with intellectual disability.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Wu et al. (2017) ran a 12-week cross-circuit exercise class in two Taiwanese special-ed schools. Thirty overweight teens with intellectual disability joined either the exercise group or a no-exercise control group.
Each circuit session lasted 50 minutes and mixed cardio, strength, and balance stations. Teachers led the class three times a week during the school day.
What they found
The exercise group lost weight and dropped their BMI by 1.3 points on average. They also doubled the time they could jog without stopping and stood on one foot 8 seconds longer.
The control group gained a little weight and showed no fitness gains.
How this fits with other research
Wu et al. (2010) tested telehealth weight-loss coaching with adults in a residential facility. Diet improved, but exercise adherence stayed low. Wen-Lan shows that in-person school circuits can beat that exercise gap for teens.
Barton et al. (2019) found kids with developmental coordination disorder had lower strength and activity than peers. That looks like a contradiction, but the kids were younger and not selected for weight. Once teens with ID are already overweight, structured circuits do help.
Wang et al. (2024) gave kids with ADHD three 60-min activity sessions a week over the study period and saw better sleep and thinking skills. Same dose, same length, different diagnosis—showing the schedule travels well across neurodevelopmental groups.
Why it matters
If you serve overweight students with ID in public schools, you now have a ready-made 50-minute circuit plan that fits inside a class period. Ask PE staff to run cardio-strength-balance stations three times a week. Track BMI, jog time, and single-leg stand as quick metrics. Starting early may prevent the higher adult mortality tied to inactivity shown by Diaz (2020).
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study assessed the effects of a cross-circuit training intervention program on the body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, balance, and muscular strength endurance of overweight or obese students with intellectual disability. A total of 43 students with intellectual disability (aged 13-19 years) were enrolled in this program; 28 overweight/obese students were assigned to either an obesity-control group (n=14) or obesity-exercise group (n=14), and those with normal weight were assigned to a normal weight group (n=15). The experiment was divided into three periods: pretest (involving the three groups), exercise intervention (involving only the obesity-exercise group), and post-test (involving the obesity-exercise and obesity-control groups). The test involved measuring the body composition, 1-min sit-ups, dynamic and static balance, vertical jumps, and modified Bruce treadmill protocols for measuring cardiorespiratory fitness. The exercise program involving the cross-circuit training concept was conducted nonstop with different types of exercise activities. The training program lasted 12 weeks, and it was executed 5days a week, with each daily session lasting 50min. The results revealed that the obesity-exercise group demonstrated reduced weight, BMI, and fat mass after the intervention program. Moreover, the exercise tolerance test (including total exercise time and maximal heart rate), dynamic balance, sit-up, and vertical jump performance of the participants improved significantly. In conclusion, the cross-circuit training program effectively improved cardiorespiratory fitness, dynamic balance, muscular strength and endurance, and weight control in overweight or obese students with intellectual disability enrolled in a special education school.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.11.005