Webinar: Improving the Health of People With Intellectual Disabilities Through Medical Fitness: Strong Practices from Special Olympics International

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are motivated to improve their fitness. A 2020 Special Olympics survey found that among people with ID who belonged to a gym (pre-COVID), most visited the facility regularly, with 74% reporting attendance at least twice per week. In 2023 alone, over 478,000 Special Olympics athletes participated in fitness programming globally. However, people with ID face many barriers to participation in fitness programming, such as lack of access and social support. Moreover, people with ID are more likely to experience greater health challenges, such as higher prevalence of chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease compared to people without intellectual disability. In fact, 65% of Special Olympics athletes who completed a health screening through Special Olympics were identified as overweight or obese over the past 5 years, while 35.6% have low bone density.

Medical fitness centers can uniquely address the holistic care of people with ID to improve their health given the dedicated focus on prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related disease, illness, and injury. As such, this session will help attendees to first understand the current health and fitness of people with ID. Additionally, attendees will understand factors to consider in program design as well as communication to aid the successful delivery of fitness programming for people with ID. Further, attendees will receive training on how to use fitness assessments and other resources for people with ID in the areas of endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance to accommodate a wide range of mobility levels. As medical fitness professionals, attendees are uniquely primed to promote healthy lifestyle choices. Together, we can ameliorate the health disparities experienced by people with ID.

Speaker: Melissa Otterbein, Senior Manager, Fitness & Healthy Lifestyles at Special Olympics International

This webinar is sponsored by Technogym - an MFA Industry Partner