title: Do children with Down syndrome perform sufficient physical activity to maintain good health? A pilot study.
abstract: Our pilot study investigated if children with Down syndrome engaged in the recommended 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day. Twenty-three children with Down syndrome (7 girls, 16 boys; mean age 11.7 years, SD = 3.1) wore a triaxial accelerometer for 7 consecutive days to measure their activity levels. The average daily MVPA undertaken was 104.5 min ( SD = 35.3 min). Only 8 of 19 children (42.1%) completed at least 60 min of MVPA each day. Lower amounts of activity were associated with older children (r = -.67, p < .01). Parents, teachers, and health professionals need to encourage children with Down syndrome to take part in more frequent MVPA.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Victoria Australia.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Dodd
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abblitt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013995:Time