Physical Activity Patterns in Adolescents and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Limited information exists on the descriptive epidemiology of physical activity (PA) in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). The purpose of this study was to report device-measured PA and sedentary time for individuals with ID (age 10-70 yr) eligible to participate in PA promotion (i.e., self-reported PA <60-90 min·wk^-1) and weight loss (i.e., body mass index ≥25 kg·m^-2) clinical trials. We aimed to examine patterns of PA by diagnosis within a day and across days and US meteorological seasons.

This cross-sectional study used baseline accelerometer data from individuals with ID participating in clinical trials. The Troiano adult and Freedson child cut-points were used to classify sedentary time and PA, and Wilcoxon rank sum or Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed differences by age, diagnosis, weekday versus weekend, time of day, and season. Mixed effects linear regressions explored the effect of time of day, weekend, and season on PA and sedentary time.

There were 330 individuals (57% female) who had valid wear time with an average of 14 ± 18 min·d^-1 of moderate-to-vigorous PA (age 10-17 yr: 13 ± 16 min·d^-1; age 18-24 yr: 18 ± 23 min·d^-1; age ≥25 yr: 12 ± 13 min·d^-1). Fewer minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA were observed on the weekends (β = -0.10, P < 0.001) and in the morning (before 0900 h, β = -0.23, P < 0.001) and evening (after 1900 h, β = -0.32, P < 0.001) compared to weekdays and late afternoon (1500-1659h).

The promotion of PA to individuals with ID is needed, particularly during times when these individuals are not in school or at work (i.e., mornings, evenings, and weekends). Future research should explore PA patterns in adolescents and adults with ID who are normal weight and regularly participating in PA, sport, and fitness programs.