Physical activity during school and after school among youth with and without intellectual disability.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about physical activity (PA) among children with intellectual disability (ID) or their reasons to take part in PA and sport.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate PA and PA patterns during school and after school among Icelandic children with mild-to-severe ID.


METHODS
Ninety-one children with ID and a matched group of 93 typically developed individuals (TDI) took part. PA was assessed with accelerometers and a questionnaire was used to collect data on PA behavior.


RESULTS
TDI children were more active and less sedentary than children with ID (p<0.001). Both sexes with ID were more active and less sedentary during school than after school (p<0.003) but no difference was found among TDI children. Children with ID (60%) were more likely to name weight loss as a reason to participate in PA than TDI children (34%, p=0.002) but a higher proportion (96%) of TDI children than children with ID (50%) participated in PA to improve skills (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Children with ID depend more on schools to accumulate their PA and their reasons for PA participation differ from TDI children. This needs to be considered when designing and implementing PA promotion campaigns for children with ID.
Center for Sport and Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Laugarvatn, Iceland. Electronic address: issi@hi.is.
Ingi Þór
IÞ
Einarsson
Center for Sport and Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Laugarvatn, Iceland.
Erlingur
E
Jóhannsson
KU Leuven, Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Leuven, Belgium.
Daniel
D
Daly
Center for Sport and Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Laugarvatn, Iceland.
Sigurbjörn Árni
SÁ
Arngrímsson
D061725:Accelerometry; D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D013177:Sports
Accelerometer; Adolescent; Children; Sex; Sport participation