Characterizing physical activity in children with ADHD and comparing subjective report to actigraphy

Oral Presentation C11.4

Authors

  • Deirdre Wholly Seattle Children's Research Institute
  • Nguyen Tran Seattle Children's Research Institute
  • Erin Schoenfelder-Gonzalez Seattle Children's Research Institute
  • Michelle Kuhn Seattle Children's Research Institute
  • Albert Hsu Seattle Children's Research Institute
  • Cindy Ola Seattle Children's Research Institute; University of Washington
  • Mark Stein Seattle Children's Research Institute; University of Washington
  • Tyler Sasser Seattle Children's Research Institute
  • Jason Mendoza Seattle Children's Research Institute; University of Washington; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  • Pooja Tandon Seattle Children's Research Institute; University of Washington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.713

Keywords:

Children, ADHD, Physical Activity, Acceelerometry

Abstract

Background: Physical activity (PA) is recommended for children with ADHD to improve symptoms and reduce risk of negative health outcomes. Many studies use subjective report of PA for convenience, but there is limited understanding of how these measures compare to objective measures in children with ADHD. Purpose: To characterize the PA of a sample of children with ADHD who participated in a clinical trial on behavioral parent training and compare parents’ reports of children’s PA to accelerometry. Methods:The sample includes 71 (31 female, mean age 7.9) children with ADHD who met inclusion criteria for the trial (parent-reported <5 days/week of ≥60 mins of MVPA). Children’s PA was assessed by parent report and measured by hip-worn Actigraph accelerometers. Results: Mean MVPA was 52.9 mins/day (via accelerometers), mean days/week with ≥60 mins of MVPA was 2.72 days. 5.6 % of children attained the recommended 7 days/week of ≥60 mins of MVPA. Daily MVPA did not differ by child gender, ADHD medications, or family income. For families with parent-reported PA data (n=59), report of days with ≥60 mins of MVPA (M=2.0 days/week) was different (p=0.018) from accelerometer measures. 51% of parents under-reported days/week with ≥60 mins/day of MVPA compared to accelerometer measure. Conclusions: Children with ADHD in this sample attained suboptimal daily MVPA, but PA was not different by gender, medication use, or family income. On average, parents’ reports underestimated child PA. Funding: Study funded by NIH R21 and R33 Grants for the LEAP Study. 

Published

2021-09-30

How to Cite

Wholly, D., Tran, N., Schoenfelder-Gonzalez, E., Kuhn, M., Hsu, A., Ola, C., Stein, M., Sasser, T., Mendoza, J., & Tandon, P. (2021). Characterizing physical activity in children with ADHD and comparing subjective report to actigraphy: Oral Presentation C11.4. The Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.713