Assessment of physical activity of adults with intellectual disabilities. A systematic review

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) is an essential element of maintaining health for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID), that is reflected in their quality of life. However, it was shown that they mostly lead a sedentary lifestyle and have a higher rate of overweight and obesity. The aim of the study was to assess the level of PA with the use of objective and subjective tools among adults with ID based on the literature review (Google Scholar, Pubmed and EBSCO databases).The study uses the data mining method. The level of PA, biopsychosocial and environmental factors determining PA were considered, and objective and subjective research tools were verified. The obtained research material indicated a frequent occurrence of a sedentary lifestyle in the examined people (2579%). Diverse conclusions were observed in terms of the used research tools (objective and subjective). The general conclusion from the analysed material indicated the problem of overweight and obesity (4487% of respondents in the group of adults with ID), and the identification of barriers to PA.The PA level of people with ID was low. Moreover, most of the respondents did not meet the PA recommendations. Subjective and objective research tools were used in the research, however, the objective ones were used more frequent, in which a sedentary lifestyle was more common. Attention should be paid to promote tailor-made programmes of PA among people with ID.