An efficacy trial of 'Steps to Your Health', a health promotion programme for adults with intellectual disability.

Objective: Although there are evaluation and effectiveness studies of health promotion interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID), randomized efficacy trials of such interventions are lacking.

Design: A randomized active control intervention trial.

Setting: The participants attended the health promotion classes in local disability agency service facilities.

Evaluation of a cardiovascular health program for participants with mental retardation and normal learners.

An evaluation was conducted to compare the impact of an 8-week cardiovascular disease risk reduction group teaching program for 92 individuals with mental retardation (MR; IQ less than 70) and 97 normal learners. The curriculum emphasized exercise, nutritional choices, and stress reduction. Body Mass Index (BMI; weight in kilograms, divided by height in meters, squared), knowledge of healthy eating choices, self-report of fruit and vegetable intake, and exercise were measured before and after the intervention.