It is common knowledge the benefits of physical activity on the human body. Physical activity can range anywhere from sports, to gardening or even just a quick 10-minute walk. A type of physical activity that often gets overlooked is swimming. Swimming has shown to have higher effects on the cardiovascular risk factors in comparison to walking (Cox et al, 2010). Additionally, swimming allows for increased muscle activity as it uses muscles of the upper body and lower body simultaneously.
A recent study evaluated the effects of swimming on body composition, specifically body fat percentage, of adolescents with Down Syndrome (Suarez-Villadat et al., 2020). Down Syndrome (DS) is caused by a genetic abnormality, meaning that there has been a change to the genetic material of the person. In this case, it is by the addition of a full or partial copy of chromosome 21. A major characteristic of DS is intellectual disability and in most cases it is associated with cardiovascular problems and obesity. Obesity is categorized as a multifactorial disease; in other words, it is influenced by many factors including the environment and ones genetics (Suarez-Villadat et al., 2020). Considering the high risk that the DS population is exposed to, it was of peak interest to see how a sport, which is already part of the Special Olympic Games, could be of benefit to their physical health.
The measurements taken to evaluate body composition were BMI, waist circumference, WtHR or fat distribution, body fat percentage and skin fold measurements (Suarez-Villadat et al., 2020). The results of the study showed that after a 36- week swimming program, adolescents with DS showed a decrease in most measurements for body composition. This decrease was seen in all measurements, except those in skin fold where a decrease was only seen the triceps and surpaspinal area. These promising results show swimming can bring beneficial physical health changes to the DS population. More broadly, health practitioners may be able to use this evidence when evaluating methods for improving body composition in this population.
Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate how swimming affects the mental health of this population. Individuals with DS are already exposed to increased risks to their physical health, which consequently may have an impact on their mental health. Thus, it could be of benefit to further understand how swimming can improve the mental and physical health of this group.
Cox, K. L., Burke, V., Beilin, L. J., & Puddey, I. B. (2010). A comparison of the effects of swimming and walking on body weight, fat distribution, lipids, glucose, and insulin in older women—the sedentary women exercise adherence trial 2. Metabolism, 59(11), 1562–1573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2010.02.001
Suarez-Villadat, B., Luna-Oliva, L., Acebes, C., & Villagra, A. (2020). The effect of swimming program on body composition levels in adolescents with down syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 102, 103643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103643
ReplyDeleteHey Steffany! This is really cool!
Your blog post reminded me of a program I once volunteered for which was a surfing program that taught children with disabilities to surf. I had always thought that the therapeutic effect was centered around fine motor skills and the calming effect that surfing seemed to have on many of these children, your post made me look further.
I found an article that explained the effectiveness of surf therapy for children with disabilities, specifically measuring physical changes in these children. The article explained that children who underwent surf therapy showed a significant increase in core strength, upper body strength and cardiorespiratory endurance compared to their counterparts that were instead enrolled in a swim program (Clapham et al., 2020).
The study did not find a significant difference in the the overall fitness levels between groups but did see a difference in body composition where the surf group had a significant reduction in total body fat and an improvement in bone mineral density after surf therapy.
While the study mentioned about compares surf therapy with those enrolled in an “unstructured” swim program, it would be interesting to see a researcher compare and contrast those enrolled in surf therapy and those enrolled in a structured swim program to determine if there is a difference or if one therapy shows better results!
Clapham, E. D., Lamont, L. S., Shim, M., Lateef, S., & Armitano, C. N. (2020). Effectiveness of surf therapy for children with disabilities. Disability and Health Journal, 13(1), 100828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2019.100828
Hello Steffany. This post was a great look on how Down Syndrome patients can improved their health. I was so interested by this topic that I found another study that looked at the effect of physical exercise on heart rate in those with Down Syndrome. In 2019, Melo et al. found that persons with Down syndrome had improved health after physical exercises: aerobic and strength training.
ReplyDeleteIn my undergraduate neuroscience class, I also learned that exercise is beneficial to everyone. Exercise leads to the increase in long term potentiation. Therefore, an increase in brain plasticity. I now will look into more research articles that look at different neurological conditions and if exercise helps relieve symptoms.
Melo, G. L. R., Soares, B. R., Neves, R. P., Olher, R. R., Souza, L. H. R., Ferreira, C. E. S., Assumpção, C. O., Rosa, T. S., Boato, E. M., & Moraes, M. R. (2019). Effect of Physical Exercise on Heart Rate Variability in Persons with Down Syndrome. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, 63–74.