PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ng, Kwok
AU  - Rintala, Pauli
AU  - Tynjälä, Jorma
AU  - Villberg, Jari
AU  - Kannas, Lasse
TI  - PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH LONG TERM ILLNESSES OR DISABILITIES IN FINNISH GENERAL EDUCATION
DP  - 2014 Mar 31
TA  - European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity
PG  - 58--72
VI  - 7
IP  - 1
AID - 10.5507/euj.2014.005
IS  - 
AB  - Physical activity (PA) of adolescents with long term illnesses or disabilities (LTID) in general education is examined to provide evidence of PA levels from specific population groups. This study describes the PA levels of adolescents with LTID based on recommendations of daily 60mins of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and vigorous leisure time PA (VPA) of at least two times a week for at least one hour per week. Finnish data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study was pooled from 2002 and 2010 surveys. 1126 respondents (14.6%) self-reported as having a LTID and details of main categories of LTID were used to examine PA behaviours. Overall, 15.6% of adolescents with LTID reported daily MVPA. In their leisure time, 74.0% of adolescents with LTID had met the VPA recommendation. These figures are lower than other reported literature on PA amongst adolescents. PA of adolescents with LTID in general education can be seen as a complex collection of different categories. Boys were more active than girls. Younger adolescents were more active than older. A closer look into the many domains of LTID demonstrated how various LTID groups differ and share similar PA patterns.