Composición corporal y condición física en niños y adolescentes con síndrome de Down; efectos de un programa de acondicionamiento combinado con saltos pliométricos.

Resum

Children and adolescents with Down syndrome have a worse body composition and physical fitness than their counterparts without disabilities. Due to the increment in their lifespan, diseases more common to happen in the adulthood, which previously have not been detected in persons with Down syndrome, are now starting to appear and even at an earlier age. It is well known that physical training improves physical fitness and body composition in children and adolescents without disabilities. However, not much is known about body composition, physical fitness or the effect of training in these variables in youths with Down syndrome. Therefore, the main objective of this Doctoral Thesis was to increase the scientific knowledge in body composition and physical fitness of youths with Down syndrome, and to observe the effects of 21 weeks of conditioning combined with plyometric jumps over those variables. A group of 32 youths with Down syndrome and another group of 35 youths without disabilities took part in the study. Body composition was evaluated using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, air displacement plethysmography and anthropometry; and physical fitness towards effort test in a treadmill, and also towards isometric and dynamic strength tests. A group of 16 participants with Down syndrome performed a training of conditioning combined with plyometric jumps during 21 weeks; the remaining youths were the control group (with and without Down syndrome). At the end of the training program, the intervention group showed improvements in cardiovascular fitness, lean mass and bone mass, indicating that this kind of training could be beneficial for children and adolescents with Down syndrome.