Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Working age adults with disabilities who do not get any aerobic physical activity are 50 percent more likely than their active peers to have a chronic disease such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, or heart disease, according to a Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Nearly half (47 percent) of adults with disabilities who are able to do aerobic physical activity do not get any. An additional 22 percent are not active enough. Yet only about 44 percent of adults with disabilities who saw a doctor in the past year got a recommendation for physical activity.
“Physical activity is the closest thing we have to a wonder drug,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Unfortunately, many adults with disabilities don’t get regular physical activity. That can change if doctors and other health care providers take a more active role helping their patients with disabilities develop a physical fitness plan that’s right for them.”
Most adults with disabilities are able to participate in some aerobic physical activity which has benefits for everyone by reducing the risk of serious chronic diseases. Some of the benefits from regular aerobic physical activity include increased heart and lung function; better performance in daily living activities; greater independence; decreased chances of developing chronic diseases; and improved mental health.
For this report, CDC analyzed data from the 2009-2012 National Health Interview Survey and focused on the relation between physical activity levels and chronic diseases among U.S. adults aged 18-64 years with disabilities, by disability status and type. These are adults with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; hearing; seeing; or concentrating, remembering, or making decisions. Based on the 2010 data, the study also assessed the prevalence of receiving a health professional recommendation for physical activity and the association with the level of aerobic physical activity.
Key findings include: