Levels and patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior in adults with and without visual impairment

Chien-Yu Pan; Chia-Liang Tsai; Po-Jen Hsu; Fu-Chen Chen; Shao-Yun Jiang; Chia-Hua Chu

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101361

Levels and patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior in adults with and without visual impairment

Disabil Health J. 2022 Oct;15(4):101361. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101361. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Authors

Chien-Yu Pan¹, Chia-Liang Tsai², Po-Jen Hsu³, Fu-Chen Chen¹, Shao-Yun Jiang¹, Chia-Hua Chu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung 802, Taiwan.
² Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.
³ Graduate Institute of Physical Education, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan City 333, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Physical Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung 802, Taiwan. Electronic address: chiahua@nknucc.nknu.edu.tw.

PMID: 35843843
DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101361

Abstract

Background: Limited data are available on objectively measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) among adults with and without visual impairment (VI).

Objective: To compare PA and SB levels and patterns in adults with and without VI and to examine how these differ based on sex and day of the week.

Methods: Thirty-two participants with VI and 32 participants without VI participated in this cross-sectional study. PA and SB were assessed using GT3X ActiGraph accelerometers during waking hours for 7 days, and variables were examined in terms of disability group, sex, and day of the week. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used, and significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results: PA did not differ in terms of sex or day of the week in participants with VI. The PA of participants without VI was significantly higher for men than it was for women and was significantly higher during weekdays than on weekend days. Total sedentary time and the duration of SB breaks were significantly longer for female participants with VI than for those without VI. The number of sedentary bouts lasting ≥10 min during weekend days was significantly higher for participants with VI than for those without VI.

Conclusions: Most adults with and without VI did not meet the recommended levels of daily PA and spend a large portion of the day being sedentary. Interventions to enhance PA and reduce sedentary time in adults with and without VI are required.

Keywords: Accelerometer; Adults; Physical activity; Sedentary behavior; Visual impairment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Accelerometry
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disabled Persons*
Exercise
Female
Humans
Male
Sedentary Behavior*
Vision Disorders