Comparison of Physical Activity Levels Between Adults With and Without Mental Retardation

Abstract

Background:Adults with mental retardation (MR) have been identified as being more sedentary than those without disabilities based on (a) proxy reports of physical activity (PA) and (b) physiological measures such as body composition or cardiovascular fitness. However, there exist no objective, direct comparisons of PA levels between adults with and without MR. The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity (PA) levels between adults with and without MR using accelerometry.Methods:Twenty-two adults with MR (11 men, 11 women; age = 34.9 ± 9.0 y), 17 sedentary controls without MR (SC; 8 men, 9 women; age = 35.8 ± 7.6 y), and 9 active controls without MR (AC; 5 men, 4 women; age = 34.1 ± 5.8 y) wore a Manufacturing Technology Inc (model 7164) accelerometer for 7 d. Data were collected in 1-min epochs and categorized according to light, moderate, hard, and very hard PA. Differences between groups on dependent measures were examined using a 1-way ANOVA.Results:Both MR and SC groups were less active (F2,47 = 12.17, P = 0.00, ηp2 = 0.35), engaged in less moderate-hard PA (F2,47 = 11.28, P = 0.00, ηp2 = 0.33), and engaged in fewer bouts of moderate-hard, continuous PA (F2,47 = 11.71, P = 0.00, ηp2 = 0.34) than AC subjects. There were no differences between MR and SC subjects on the variables measured.Conclusions:The results suggest that adults with MR exhibit PA patterns similar to sedentary adults without MR. Interventions for this population should target participation in continuous, moderate PA.

Health‐promoting physical activity of adults with mental retardation

“…Subjects walked less on weekends, with 9 participants (45%) achieving 10,000 steps or more on weekdays and only 4 (20%) achieving this criterion on weekend days. This is contrary to previous research that found no differences in weekend versus weekday physical activity in this population [Frey, 2004]. In a larger sample of 103 adults, Stanish and Draheim [2005a] found that subjects with MR walked an average fewer steps per day (7,832) and only 21% met the 10,000 steps per day guideline.…”

“…Age, education, gender, heredity, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, the presence of children, activity history, dietary habits, and processes of change impact activity in people without disabilities [Trost et al, 2002], but most of these have not been explored in people with MR. Age appears to be negatively associated with activity in adults with MR [Robertson et al, 2000;Emerson, 2005]. Interestingly, the gender disparities in physical activity frequently observed in the general population are not apparent in those with MR [Robertson et al, 2000;Draheim et al, 2002a;Frey, 2004] and this may be because both men and women are largely sedentary.…”

“…Motion sensors provide strong, objective estimates of physical activity frequency, duration, and intensity in free-living populations. These attributes also make motion sensors advantageous for assessing physical activity in people with MR because there is no recall demand, and several studies have effectively used motion sensors in this population [Temple et al, 2000;Temple and Walkley, 2003b;Frey, 2004]. However, the devices are costly and provide less accurate estimates of energy expenditure, which can limit their utility [Welk et al, 2000].…”

“…To date, only eight studies have specifically examined physical activity, not exercise or fitness, in adults with MR according to current published recommendations (30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity all or most days of the week or 10,000 steps per day) [Temple et al, 2000;Draheim et al, 2002aDraheim et al, , 2002bDraheim et al, , 2003Temple and Walkley, 2003b;Frey, 2004;Stanish andDraheim, 2005a, 2005b]. There is large variability in reports, but, based on these limited findings, less than one-third of this population segment engage in sufficient physical activity to accrue health benefits [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005; see Table 1].…”

“…Frey [2004] conducted the only study with instrumentation that allowed minute by minute data analysis and thus the ability to assess continuous activity. Few subjects with MR engaged in continuous activity longer than 5 minutes.…”