The effect of swimming program on body composition levels in adolescents with Down syndrome.
Three 50-minute swim sessions a week for most of the school year can slim down teens with Down syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Suarez-Villadat et al. (2020) asked if regular swimming could trim body fat in teens with Down syndrome.
They split teens into two groups. One group swam three times a week for 50 minutes. The other group had light water play. The program lasted 36 weeks.
Staff measured BMI, waist size, and body fat before and after.
What they found
The swim group lost more fat and had smaller waists than the light-play group.
Most body-composition scores moved in a healthy direction.
How this fits with other research
Sosnowski et al. (2022) ran a similar test with basketball in adults. Three sessions a week also cut fat. The sport changed, the Down syndrome group changed, but the benefit repeated.
González-Agüero et al. (2011) used mixed gym drills for 21 weeks. They saw lean mass grow, yet fat stayed flat. Borja’s longer swim plan shows fat can drop when the program runs longer.
Hoyle et al. (2022) tried only 12 weeks of community exercise. They gained small executive-function gains but no body changes. The message: longer programs like Borja’s 36-week swim may be needed to see body-composition wins.
Why it matters
If you serve teens with Down syndrome, schedule three steady swim sessions a week. Keep each around 50 minutes. Stay with it for most of the school year. The payoff is visible fat loss and slimmer waists without strict diets.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Down syndrome has been associated with more than 80 clinical characteristics such as diabetes, cardiovascular problems or obesity. AIMS: The current study determined the effect of a 36 weeks swimming program on different indicators of body composition in adolescents with Down syndrome. METHODS AND PROCEDURES OUTCOMES: 45 adolescents with Down syndrome were recruited and randomized to two groups (control group vs. exercise group). Adolescents allocated in the control group carried out a recreational swimming program twice a week during 36 weeks meanwhile adolescents allocated in the exercise group did exercise three time a week during 36 weeks. BMI, Waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac and thigh skinfold were measured. RESULTS: ANCOVA tests were used to evaluate differences between groups in post-test intervention. Repeated measures of ANOVA were performed in order to assess differences in pre-test intervention in each group. t test were carried out to compare the pre-post-intervention differences in physical characteristics and body composition within each group. The exercise group had significant improvements in all variables of body composition (p < 0.05) except in subscapular and thigh skinfold. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The results suggest that a 36 weeks swimming program consisting of 3 sessions of 50 minutes is able to decrease levels of body composition in a sample of adolescents with Down syndrome. The findings indicate that it would be important to generate high intensity sports programs in sports associations in order to obtain positive impact on body composition levels within this population.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103643