Suchergebnisse

Objective To characterize physical activity levels of adults with mental retardation and identify limitations in published research. Data Sources Key word searches for "mental retardation, " "intellectual disability, " "learning disability, " or "developmental disability" combined with "physical activity" or "habitual exercise" identified articles from MEDLINE, Academic Search Elite, Psych Articles, Health Source, and SPORT Discus. This produced a total of 801 citations. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Published English-language literature that quantitatively measured physical activity levels of adults with mental retardation was included in this review. Fourteen articles met this criterion. Data Extraction Characteristics of participants, study design, outcome measures, methods of analyses, and findings in terms of percentages, step counts, and acceleromeler output were extracted. Data Synthesis Data were synthesized to identify the percentage of adults with mental retardation who met published health-related physical activity criteria and compare them with adults without mental retardation and to examine study limitations. Results The studies with the greatest rigor indicate that one-third of adults or fewer with mental retardation were sufficiently active to achieve health benefits. However, data are insufficient to determine whether adults with mental retardation are less active than the general community. Conclusions Future research would be enhanced by including appropriately powered representative samples, by including comparison groups, by validating physical activity questionnaires, and by determining the accuracy of proxy respondents.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to assess novel methods of health education and promotion to increase physical activity among adults with intellectual disabilities. Design. A pre-post delayed treatment design was employed to assess the effect of the intervention. Setting. The intervention was administered at two agencies that serve adults with intellectual disabilities. Subjects. Forty-two adults ranging in age from 19 to 62 with mild to moderate intellectual disability participated in the study. Participants were equally divided by gender. Intervention. An eight-session intervention employed a combination of video instruction, pictorial memory tools, and interactive class activities as educational methods. Measures. Physical activity knowledge was evaluated using Illingworth, Moore, and McGillivray's Nutrition Activity Knowledge Scale (NAKS) and the Physical Activity Recommendations Assessment (PARA). Average daily minutes of physical activity were measured using dual-axis accelerometers. Analysis. Paired and independent samples t-tests were used to assess the knowledge scales. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to assess physical activity participation. Results. Overall, there were mean improvements in scores for both the NAKS (p < .05) and the PARA (p < .001) following the intervention. Physical activity also improved, but not significantly. Conclusion. The education and training methods used in this curriculum are promising for future health education programs in this population. Additional interventions may be necessary to improve physical activity participation.

AbstractThere is little understanding of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior as preventive health behaviors in autistic adults. Technology has been used as an educational and social intervention tool for autistic individuals, yet it is also associated with low PA and high sedentary time (ST) in the neurotypical population. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of self-reported PA and ST and their relationships with various technology uses in autistic adults. We employed a Qualtrics online survey that consisted of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, Sedentary Behavior Questionnaire, and National Alliance for Mental Illness's digital technology use survey. 229 responses (74.6% under 35 years of age; 64.1% males) satisfied the response validity criteria and were included in the analyses. The majority of participants (78%) met the recommended PA amount of ≥ 600 metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-minutes/week (median, 1,812 total MET-minutes/week), but they were also overly sedentary on both weekdays (median, 8 h/day) and weekends (median, 7 h/day). Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that variance of ST in weekday (45%) and weekend (43%) was largely explained by quality of life (β = -0.31; β = -0.33) and technology use time (β = 0.31; β = 0.26) (all p < .01). While technology can be an effective tool to support social and academic abilities in autistic adults, the use of technology devices needs to be monitored with care as it may put these individuals at risk for sedentary lifestyles and associated chronic diseases.