title: Children with cerebral palsy do not achieve healthy physical activity levels.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared daily activity energy expenditure (AEE) in children with cerebral palsy with a control group and investigated whether the children achieved healthy levels of physical activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled eight children with bilateral cerebral palsy, from eight to 10 years of age, and a group of controls matched for age and gender. For three days, physical activity was simultaneously measured by accelerometers and self-reports using a diary. The daily AEE results were compared between groups and methods. The number of children that achieved healthy physical activity levels in each group was explored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with cerebral palsy had significantly lower daily AEE, as measured by accelerometers, than the controls, and they did not achieve the healthy moderate to heavy physical activity level defined in the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. Self-reports using the diaries resulted in an overestimation of physical activity compared with the ankle accelerometer measurements in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our investigation of physical activity in children with cerebral palsy and controls using accelerometers and a diary found low levels of daily AEE and physical activity, and these results were most prominent in the group with cerebral palsy. The diaries overestimated physical activity in both groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: L U
authors.initials: LU
authors.lastname: Bratteby Tollerz
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Forslund
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.|Department of Social and Welfare Studies, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lidström
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Holmbäck
mesh_terms: D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity
keywords: Accelerometer; Activity energy expenditure; Cerebral palsy; Children; Physical activity level