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The article reports on research conducted to determine the levels of physical activity and to determine the factors related to the physical activity behavior of adults with multiple sclerosis by use of the Physical Activity for People With a Disability (PAD) model. Researchers evaluated 106 people with multiple sclerosis. They found that the the individuals that they evaluated spent an average of 30 hours per week on activities with metabolic equivalents of two on the Expanded Disability Status Scale score. They also found that people with multiple sclerosis were less active if their disease was more severe, if they received a disability pension or had children to care for. INSET: The Bottom Line.

Background and Purpose Although a criterion reference of 10,000 steps per day is recommended for health benefits, a literature search yielded no normative standard for daily steps. Therefore, a meta-analysis was used in estimate the number of pedometer-documented steps that adults take daily. Methods Studies were retrieved using electronic databases and cross-referencing from retrieved studies. A random-effects model and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used tor all analyses of daily step data. Results Seventy-one outcomes, representing 6,199 subjects from 42 studies, met the inclusion criteria. Excluding Amish subjects, the daily step count averaged 9,448 (95% CI=8,899-9,996) and was greater in subjects younger than 65 years of age (mean=9,797, 95% CI=9,216-10,377) compared with subjects 65 years of age or older (mean=6,565, 95% CI=4,897-8,233). Discussion and Conclusion This study provides an estimate of the number of daily steps taken by adults. The number is less than the recommended 10,000 steps per day and is especially low in adults 65 years of age or older. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]