Physically Disabled People: Inactivity in Physical Activities - Essay Sample

Introduction

People who are physically disabled are impaired in engaging in some activities in which people who are not disabled find no difficulty in doing. Therefore, people who are physically disabled may not be actively involved in doing physically-demanding activities that nondisabled persons perform. The main aim of doing this research is to find why physically disabled people are not physically active in doing physical activities like sports, fitness programs, and even house chores and such incapacitation affects their overall well-being. According to statistics, there are more than one billion people in the world who are disabled and face different barriers in the day-to-day physical activities that make a critical contribution living a fulfilled lifestyle (Rimmer & Marques, 2012). In the United States, more than twenty-one million people aged between 18-64 years live with some form of disability (CDC, 2019). The disabilities range from hearing impairments, lack of vision, and having difficulty walking or climbing the stairs. Others entail the inadequate ability to comprehend and also forgetfulness due to intellectual limitations. These disabilities impose affected individuals with various restrictions in participating in physical activity, which undermines their overall health, worsening the overall negative impact of disability on their lives.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Physical activity is essential to the body of any human being. An active lifestyle enables a person to have a healthy life socially, mentally, and physically. Engaging in activities like sports, playing, doing house chores, and being involved in recreational activities are generally useful in many ways. As such, adults with a disability may miss the benefits associated with physical activity. Disabled children also need to be socially engaged to promote their psychological health, enable them to have a good body composition and bone health (Shield & Synnot, 2016). This will help them not enjoy good health devoid of challenges that arise from activeness. Whether referring to children or adults, the disabled may not be so actively involved in physical activities because of barriers that may make it hard for them to overcome. These barriers include financial factors, attitudes, psychological torture/mental health, and the presence of chronic diseases that require regular exercise for one to lead a healthy life. That is why little engagement in physical activity impacts the lives of disabled people negatively.

For most disabled individuals to be financially stable becomes a big challenge because they lack the necessary facilitation. The facilitation may be special equipment that they can use in their training as well as playing. These are special tools that they can help them in their mobility as well as what they need to move around and even unique attires that fits them. Such things are usually quite expensive to acquire (Shield, & Synnot, 2016). If one is talented in matters sports, there are no professional clubs where they can play and make a decent living like the other players. In the case of the blind, they may sing, but because of not being able to see, they are so affected. They have to rely on someone to guide them through their concert performance, recording, and selling of their music to the world. This does not yield much as people may not be so committed to making it a successful venture. Such inadequacies put disabled people at a disadvantage, forcing them to rely on others, which is not only unreliable but unfulfilling.

A sedentary lifestyle is a sign of an unhealthy lifestyle. The lack of exercise among the disabled may make them be at risk of developing lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular, being weight, and then obese, which may lead to one having hypertension and diabetes. According to Marques et al. (2017), a sedentary lifestyle leads to increased chances of one developing heart disease, breathing problems, and diabetes. For instance, Marques et al., (2017), observes that a weakly active physical activity leads to a lesser chance of developing heart diseases. It is, therefore, important that disabled people engage in physical activities to avoid developing these chronic diseases. A little exercise daily or even weekly goes a long way in keeping diseases at bay and ensuring that one enjoys good health. However, this reality may not be possible due to mental impairments, mobility problems, and body coordination challenges that such individuals experience.

The inability of people with disabilities to access adequate physical activity, such as engagement in aerobic exercise may enhance the progression of diseases. Exercise confers several benefits that have psychological and healing effects for individuals diagnosed with chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Since individuals with disabilities have limited access to physical activity due to coordination and mobility impairments, they may be exposed to a higher rate of progression once diagnosed with a disease. Research indicates that high physical activity reduces the risk of the disease progressing with one meta-analysis suggesting patients who engage in aerobic exercises not only cut their risk of cancer significantly but also minimize the progression of the disease after diagnosis (Keimling et al., 2014). The reduced physical activity among individuals with a disability means that they face a more significant challenge in overcoming diseases compared to persons who are not disabled. The enhanced risk implies that more efforts are needed to help individuals with disabilities avoid diseases but also live more comfortably once they have diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses like cancer.

The attitude of a person determines how they perceive different things in their lives. A negative mindset will make a person feel discouraged and end up giving up on an intended course. On the other hand, a positive attitude will make a person view things positively and thus acquire have an inner power to keep engaging in life-satisfying activities. In the case of being physically active in the disabled population, attitude plays an important part. If they become positive, without having self-pity or not taking in any prejudice, then they can engage in physical activities and end up improving their lives and live a more fulfilling life. According to Hastbacka et al. (2016), if the disabled can conquer the negative attitude, stigmatization, and discrimination, without feeling self-pity, they can engage in societal activities like sports and recreational facilities, which will improve their lives. People should be given information and taught to be knowledgeable about the importance of physical exercise among all people and the disabled included. Such information will help the disabled not to give up and other people to see that the disabled are humans too who need to exercise and stay healthy.

The psychological well-being of an individual plays a vital role in how one comprehends and interprets information. A healthy mind will interpret data and act accordingly for the benefit of oneself. A psychologically disturbed mind will harm how they drive their lives in general. Mental illness is a public concern that affects the daily lives of activities of an individual. This implies that mental illness affects the physical activity of an individual, especially if they are disabled. This is because disabled people have a lot of issues to deal with, such as pain, discrimination, stigmatization, and mobility hindrance. In his study, Harris (2018) observed that mental well-being increased the physical activity of an individual. It is, therefore, important that if a person is psychologically disturbed, it means that they will engage in fewer or less physical activity. Since people with a disability deal with several psychological issues associated with their physical challenges, they require enhanced support to gain from physical activities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, individuals with disabilities fail to engage in physical activity adequately. Participation in physical activity has many benefits. One can reduce the risk of diseases and also minimize the chances of progression of disease once diagnosed. For instance, data suggests that people who engage in physical activity reduces their risk of suffering from obesity and heart disease. There are also psychological and financial gains that result from physical activity. Limitations disabled people experience means that they do not benefit from the health outcomes associated with physical activity. Disabled people already have a challenge they seek to overcome daily. The expectation for them to participate in physical activities raises the bar to a level that is not within their reach. That explains the need for these individuals to accorded adequate support to participate in physical activity. It is an issue requiring attention now and not tomorrow.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, September 4). Increasing physical activity among adults with disabilities | CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/pa.html

Harris, M. A. (2018). The relationship between physical inactivity and mental wellbeing: Findings from a gamification-based community-wide physical activity intervention. Health Psychology Open, 5(1), 205510291775385. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102917753853

Hastbacka, E., Nygard, M., & Nyqvist, F. (2016). Barriers and facilitators to societal participation of people with disabilities: A scoping review of studies concerning European countries. Alter, 10(3), 201-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alter.2016.02.002

Marques, A., Santos, T., Martins, J., Matos, M. G., & Valeiro, M. G. (2017). undefined. European Journal of Sport Science, 18(1), 140-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2017.1400109

McLoughlin, G., Weisman Fecske, C., Castaneda, Y., Gwin, C., & Graber, K. (2017). undefined. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 34(4), 421-441. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2016-0127

Rimmer, J. H., & Marques, A. C. (2012). Physical activity for people with disabilities. The Lancet, 380(9838), 193-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(12)61028-9

Shields, N., & Synnot, A. (2016). Perceived barriers and facilitators to participation in physical activity for children with disability: A qualitative study. BMC Pediatrics, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-016-0544-7

Keimling, M., Behrens, G., Schmid, D., Jochem, C., & Leitzmann, M. F. (2014). The association between physical activity and bladder cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Cancer, 110(7), 1862-1870. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2014.77