ABSTRACT
The term 'disability' refers to a complex interaction between aspects of a person's body and aspects of the society in which the person lives. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities protects the rights of people with disabilities to participate, on an equal basis with others, in sport, exercise, and other recreational physical activities. Despite this protection, disabled populations are less likely to participate in leisure-time physical activity than able-bodied populations. Given that people with physical disabilities continuously indicate characteristics of the environment as barriers to participation, this type of approach has the potential to impact large segments of disabled populations. Reducing the prevalence of modifiable barriers is one example of how environmental and policy approaches can positively contribute to physical activity behavior change for people with physical disabilities.
