Correlates of Physical Inactivity among Individuals with Physical Disabilities

Abstract

The present study examined the multidimensional correlates of sedentary behaviors among individuals with physical disabilities (e.g., cerebral vascular disorder, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury). One hundred thirty-nine individuals with physical disabilities using facilities for persons with physical disabilities completed a questionnaire measuring the following factors: demographic and biological factors (age, gender, presence of a spouse, BMI, onset age of disability, disability level, kinds of services, period of service), behavioral factors (smoking and alcohol consumption habits, exercise history), psychological factors (self-efficacy for exercise, enjoyment of exercise), social factors (social support for exercise, recommendation by medical professionals for exercise) and environment factors (perceived neighborhood or facility environment for exercise). Overall, mean time spent in sedentary behaviors was 9.5 hours per day. The following factors were significantly related to physical inactivity in multiple regression analyses: severity of the disability, the lack of an exercise history during adulthood, no recommendation by medical professionals for exercise, and poor neighborhood and facility environment for exercise. Accurately understanding the correlates of physical inactivity may be helpful for health care providers to improve physical activity promotion efforts among individuals with physical disabilities.