Dietary restraint, binge eating and adherence to an adolescent intensive behavioural weight management intervention: a Fast Track to Health sub-study.

Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, affecting everyday skills (American Psychological Association –APA ; Schalock et al. ; Tassé et al. ). These limitations typically include difficulties in reasoning, problem solving, learning, abstract thinking, communication, social skills, and independent daily living activities, such as personal care, decision making, and social participation (Schalock et al. ; Tassé et al. ). ID often cooccurs with other conditions, most notably autism spectrum disorder (ASD; APA ). Individuals with ASD experience increased social stress during adolescence, as demands for social competence increase (Ladd ). This stress often leads to social withdrawal, loneliness, and heightened risk for anxiety and depression (Bellini ; White and Roberson-Nay ; Kuusikko et al. ). Physical activity (PA) benefits individuals with ID and ASD by improving fitness, mental health, social inclusion, and learning (Menear and Neumeier ). However, participation is often limited by barriers such as a lack of specialized programs and the prevalence of competitive formats (Jansiewicz et al. ). Additionally, motivation and sensory sensitivities often limit participation and social skill development (Zhao et al. ; Baker et al. ). Wouters et al. () found that only half of the children with moderate to severe ID met the World Health Organization’s activity recommendations, highlighting the need for regular PA. Individuals with ID often have low muscle strength, balance (Blomqvist et al. ; Hale et al. ), and cardiovascular fitness due to sedentary lifestyles, which increases the risk of chronic health issues (Graham and Reid ; ACSM ). Children with ASD face high risk of obesity, partly due to low PA levels and medication effects (Rimmer et al. ; Hellings et al. ; Persico et al. ). Fragala-Pinkham et al. () demonstrated that aquatic exercise can improve cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, and motor skills in children with disabilities, including ASD, with increased time expended within the target heart rate zone associated with faster completion of motor tasks. Tailored programs have also been linked to reduced obesity and improved fitness (Ross et al. ; Casey et al. ; Pitetti et al. ). These findings support the importance of individualized exercise interventions for improving health in individuals with ID and ASD.