Physical activity of adults with intellectual disability

This study examined the concurrence between proxy generated estimates of physical activity via diary recordings and accelerometer generated estimates of physical activity for 37 adults with intellectual disability living in supported group homes. Specifically, the following questions were addressed: (a) to what extent did the proxy estimates agree with the accelerometer estimates, and (b) how physically active were individuals in the study? The intraclass correlation coefficient between the two data sources was 0.78. The majority of participants' time was spent in sedentary activities with only 32% of individuals meeting the Australian national guidelines for physical activity participation. However, within group variability was high and a proportion of participants (14%) spent more than an hour each day in light manual work. These findings reveal that proxy recording of physical activity behaviour provides meaningful data and suggests that, as with the general community, only a proportion of this population was sedentary. However, comparison between the findings of this study and the available population data indicates that participants were less active than the general community.