Levels and Patterns of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Adults With and Without Down Syndrome

Previous studies have reported that adults with Down syndrome (DS) may perform less physical activity (PA) and more sedentary behavior (SB) than adults without DS (non-DS). We investigated differences in PA and SB profiles between DS and non-DS when utilizing newly developed population-specific activity-intensity cut points. Ninety adults (DS: 40; non-DS: 50) had PA and SB measured by accelerometry. Data were scored with cut points for DS and non-DS. Results from 2 × 2 (Condition × Sex) analysis of covariance indicated adults with DS had less sedentary but more moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) time, more ≥1-min but less ≥10-, ≥30-, and ≥ 60-min sedentary bouts, and shorter ≥1- and ≥10-min sedentary bouts than non-DS. DS also had more ≥10-min MVPA bouts but shorter ≥10- and ≥20-min MVPA bouts than non-DS. DS performed more MVPA and less SB than non-DS when scoring data with population-specific cut points.