Physical fitness and body composition profile of young people with mild intellectual impairment: a cross-sectional study among Iranian population

The current study aimed to investigate that whether young people with mild intellectual impairments (II) having various levels of IQ have different physical fitness and body composition. Moreover, this study aims to answer this question that is there any association among IQ level, Body Mass Index, and physical fitness factors? A number of 1200 students from all Tehran’s special high schools were screened, and finally, 355 of them with mean age 24.6 ± 3.0 years, height 173.5 ± 6.8 cm, weight 78.6 ± 8.5 kg, and body mass index (BMI) 23.3 ± 2.8 kg/m2 were chosen to be included in the study based on including criteria. All participants had a mild II with the IQ range of 50 to 75 based on the Wechsler Intelligence Test. Participants' physical fitness was assessed by Eurofit special battery test. Body composition evaluation measured by Body Composition Scale. The results showed that there were significant differences in most physical fitness factors between males and females, except in dynamic balance and flexibility (P ≤ 0.05). There was a significant association between IQ levels with all physical fitness factors (P ≤ 0.05) except for flexibility. Different IQ levels were associated with physical fitness factors, so that II students with low IQ had lower physical fitness than those who had higher IQ. Practitioners should consider these differences when working with II people of different gender and different level of IQ.