Lower Musculoskeletal Fitness Among Youth with Disabilities, Ages 6 to 15 Years

E. Andrew Pitchford () and Willie Leung
Additional contact information
E. Andrew Pitchford: School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Willie Leung: Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL 33606, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Youth with disabilities (YWD) often exhibit deficits in physical fitness, but much of the literature is limited by small, non-representative samples. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in musculoskeletal fitness between youth with and without disabilities from the 2012 National Youth Fitness Survey (NYFS). Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted with cross-sectional data from the 2012 NYFS of youth, 6 to 15 years of age. Fitness measures included plank, modified pull-ups, and grip strength. Disability was identified by multiple parent report items. Logistic regression with sampling weights was employed to examine group differences and associated factors. Results: A total of 1177 youth were analyzed, including 173 YWD. A significantly greater proportion of YWD demonstrated low fitness in all three measures compared to youth without disabilities. Factors associated with low fitness included sex, engagement in physical activity, and the body mass index category. Age was not a significant factor for any fitness measure. Conclusions: This secondary analysis provides additional evidence for lower musculoskeletal fitness among YWD, in particular for females and youth with obesity. Physical fitness continues to be an area in need of intervention to improve overall health among YWD.

Keywords: physical fitness; disability; children; adolescents; health; secondary data analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/302/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/302/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:2:p:302-:d:1593280

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().