Adults with intellectual disabiliti

Adults with intellectual disabilities of any age, who possessed the minimal capabilities needed to be independent and would be able to make a change in their health related behaviors, were selected as the target population for the present study.

Between March and May 2012 a hundred and seven people from a regional occupational center were screened. Twenty-four people (17 men and 7 women), aged between 24 and 60 years old, were selected for the study following the inclusion criteria: (1) presenting mild to moderate intellectual disability grade (degree of disability was diagnosed by the medical doctor of the center, but he did not follow any systematic assessment); (2) having minimum physical and mental capabilities to carry out the proposed activities; (3) having no contraindication to perform physical activity; (4) being not under any antipsychotic or anxiolytic pharmacological medication (de Winter, Bastiaanse, Hilgenkamp, Evenhuis, & Echteld, 2012); (5) having a BMI higher than 15 and lower than 40 at the beginning of the program; (6) filling out correctly the informed consent.

Participants who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from the study (Figure 1). Body mass index range for inclusion in the study was settled according to the minimum and maximum showed in the center records, although at the time of measure, five of them presented BMI over 40 and were not physically independent for carrying out the activities proposed. People who could not follow the simple exercise directions needed to perform the activities which will be explained below, were also excluded from participation.