Abstract
Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically have a sedentary lifestyle and higher rates of overweight and obesity. This study describes the habitual daily physical activity (PA) and the health-related physical fitness (PF) of adults with mild and moderate ID who resided in four group homes and worked in sheltered workshops. We also assessed the contribution of PF variables towards PA levels and sedentary behavior of this population subgroup. Adults with mild and moderate ID (N = 114) were assessed on PF tests (percent body fat, waist and hip circumferences, 6-min walk (6MWT), arm curl, and sit and reach). PA and sedentary behavior on weekdays were determined using Actigraph accelerometers. Results showed these adults averaged 2% of their daily time (or 10 min) engaged in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and 67% of the time (495 min) being sedentary. No significant differences between mild and moderate ID were found for any PA or PF variable. Linear multiple regression analyses showed 6MWT to be the only significant PF variable contributing to the variance of PA and sedentary behavior. In conclusion, adults with ID reside in group home have low PA and low fitness levels. Among fitness variables, the walking test (i.e., cardiovascular fitness) had the highest positive association with participants’ daily PA, MVPA, and negative association with sedentary behavior. Future intervention studies in promoting PA and fitness for adults with ID are warranted.
Highlights
Intellectual disability (ID) is a disability characterized by significant limitations, both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, that begins before adulthood [1]
The physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) data were checked for normality with moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA)
This study focused on the PA and PF status of adults with ID residing in group homes
Summary
Intellectual disability (ID) is a disability characterized by significant limitations, both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, that begins before adulthood [1]. In January 2015, there were 71,000–101,000 people with ID in Hong Kong, approximately. 1.0–1.4% of the population [2]. This figure is similar to the estimated prevalence rate for high-income countries (0.9%) [3]. Adults with ID have been associated with having multiple health conditions and tend to have higher morbidity rates and a shorter life expectancy [4,5,6] than the general population. As people with ID often experience health problems associated with aging at earlier ages and at higher rates, researchers have stressed the importance of health promotion interventions for this population subgroup [8,9]
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