Adolescent girls with intellectual disabilities (ID) are at risk for low physical activity (PA) participation due to their limited opportunities.
Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 12-week dance intervention to promote engagement in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and increase cardiorespiratory fitness.
Methods: The 12-week intervention included two 75-min weekly dance sessions. Continuous heart-rate (HR) monitoring assessed time spent below/at/above each girl's target HR zone. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by the 6-min walk test (6MWT). Survey items assessed participant enjoyment and participant and parent satisfaction.
Results: The mean (SD) age of 18 adolescent girls was 17.3 (2.7) years. Overall, girls attended 88% of sessions and spent 52.3% of each session in MVPA. Mean MVPA was unchanged across the 12 weeks, but the pattern differed across the three sites. We observed a non-significant pre-post increase of 74.6 feet on the 6MWT. Post-intervention surveys indicated that most girls liked the program, perceived improved fitness, and wished to continue dancing. The majority also reported a preference for a girls-only dance program exclusively for those with ID.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that dance is viable for promoting PA for girls with ID. More frequent exercise training is likely needed to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.
Keywords: adolescent girls; dance; engagement; enjoyment; intellectual disabilities; physical activity.