A Meta-analysis of the Relationship Between Children’s Physical Activity and Mental Health

doi:10.1093/JPEPSY/JSQ107

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A Meta-analysis of the Relationship Between Children’s Physical Activity and Mental Health

Journal Article•DOI•

A Meta-analysis of the Relationship Between Children’s Physical Activity and Mental Health

Soyeon Ahn¹, Alicia L. Fedewa¹•Institutions (1)

University of Kentucky¹

01 May 2011-Journal of Pediatric Psychology (Oxford University Press)-Vol. 36, Iss: 4, pp 385-397

TL;DR: Results demonstrated varying effects depending on the methodology of the examined study and characteristics of the participants, although overall effects of physical activity on children's mental health were small but significant, indicating that on average physical activity led to improved mental health outcomes for all children.

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Abstract: The present study was a comprehensive, quantitative synthesis of the literature examining the effects of physical activity on children's mental health outcomes. The final analysis included 73 published and unpublished studies, totaling 246 effect sizes. Various study and participant characteristics were coded to assess moderator effects, including type of physical activity, mental health outcome, gender, cognitive ability, mental status, and implementer of the physical activity, etc. Results demonstrated varying effects depending on the methodology of the examined study [i.e., correlational vs. randomized controlled trial (RCT)/non-RCT] and characteristics of the participants, although overall effects of physical activity on children's mental health were small but significant, indicating that on average physical activity led to improved mental health outcomes for all children.

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School

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Harold W. Kohl, Heather Del Valle Cook, Nutrition Board

30 Nov 2013

TL;DR: The Effectiveness of Physical Activity and Physical Education Policies and Programs: Summary of the Evidence and Recommendations are presented.

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Abstract: Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic.The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed.This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.

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712 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

LETTERS to the EDITORPublication bias

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P. Sleight, D. Bergel

06 Jul 1991

527 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: An updated review of reviews and an analysis of causality

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Stuart J. H. Biddle¹, Simone Ciaccioni¹, George Thomas¹, Ineke Vergeer¹•Institutions (1)

University of Southern Queensland¹

01 May 2019-Psychology of Sport and Exercise

TL;DR: In this paper, an updated review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses was undertaken concerning physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents, and to judge the extent to which associations can be considered causal.

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518 citations

Additional excerpts

...In the current update, we located an additional 10 systematic reviews – a 3.3-fold increase – (Ahn & Fedewa, 2011; Babic et al., 2014; Bassett-Gunter, McEwan, & Kamarhie, 2017; Burkhardt & Brennan, 2012; Ferreira-Vorkapic et al., 2015; Liu, Wu, & Ming, 2015; Lubans, Morgan, Cliff, Barnett, & Okely, 2010; Ruotsalainen, Kyngas, Tammelin, & Kaariainen, 2015; J. J.; Smith et al., 2014; Spruit, Assink, van Vugt, van der Put, & Stams, 2016) (see Supplementary Table S4)....
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...In the current update, we located a further 25 systematic reviews – a 3.6-fold increase and essentially 3–4 new reviews per year (Alvarez-Bueno, Pesce, Cavero-Redondo, Sanchez-Lopez, Garrido-Miguel et al., 2017; Alvarez-Bueno, Pesce, Cavero-Redondo, Sanchez-Lopez, Martinez-Hortelano et al., 2017; Busch et al., 2014; Bustamante, Williams, & Davis, 2016; CerrilloUrbina et al., 2015; de Greeff, Bosker, Oosterlaan, Visscher, & Hartman, 2018; Den Heijer et al., 2017; Donnelly et al., 2016; Esteban-Cornejo, Tejero-Gonzalez, Sallis, & Veiga, 2015; Fedewa & Ahn, 2011; FerreiraVorkapic et al., 2015; Jackson, Davis, Sands, Whittington, & Sun, 2016; Lees & Hopkins, 2013; Marques, Gomez, Martins, Catunda, & Sarmento, 2017; Marques, Santos, Hillman, & Sardinha, 2017; Martin et al., 2018; Mura, Vellante, Nardi, Machado, & Carta, 2015; Poitras et al., 2016; Rasberry et al., 2011; Ruiz-Ariza, Grao-Cruces, de Loureiro, & MartinezLopez, 2017; Singh, Uijtdewilligen, Twisk, van Mechelen, & Chinapaw, 2012; J. J.; Smith et al., 2014; Spruit et al., 2016; Tan, Pooley, & Speelman, 2016; Verburgh, Konigs, Scherder, & Oosterlaan, 2014)....
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...In the current update, we located a further 10 systematic reviews – a 2.5-fold increase – (Ahn & Fedewa, 2011; Bailey, Hetrick, Rosenbaum, Purcell, & Parker, 2018; Brown, Pearson, Braithwaite, Brown, & Biddle, 2013; Bursnall, 2014; Carter, Morres, Meade, & Callaghan, 2016; Janssen & Leblanc, 2010; Johnson & Taliaferro, 2011; Korczak, Madigan, & Colasanto, 2017; Poitras et al., 2016; Radovic, Gordon, & Melvin, 2017), of which only two did not synthesise evidence concerning interventions (Korczak et al., 2017; Poitras et al., 2016) (see Supplementary Table S1)....
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...Across the seven reviews that summarised interventions and provided details on the studies reviewed (the review by Ahn and Fedewa did not specifically identify the primary studies that were used in their analysis of depression), 25 intervention papers were included, of which 11 were featured across more than one review (44%)....
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...In the current update, we located only three new systematic reviews (Ahn & Fedewa, 2011; CerrilloUrbina et al., 2015; Ferreira-Vorkapic et al., 2015) (see Supplementary Table S3)....
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Compliance with physical activity guidelines : prevalence in a population of children and youth

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Russell R. Pate¹, Patty S. Freedson², James F. Sallis³, Wendell C. Taylor⁴, John R. Sirard², Stewart G. Trost¹, Marsha Dowda¹ - Show less +3 more•Institutions (4)

University of South Carolina¹, University of Massachusetts Amherst², San Diego State University³, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston⁴

01 Jan 2002

TL;DR: Objective monitoring of physical activity in youth appears to be feasible and may provide more accurate prevalence rates than self-report measures.

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Abstract: PURPOSE To use objective monitoring of physical activity to determine the percentages of children and youth in a population that met physical activity guidelines. METHODS A total of 375 students in grades 1–12 wore an accelerometer (CSA 7164) for seven consecutive days. Bouts of continuous activity and accumulation of minutes spent in physical activity at various intensities were calculated to determine how many students met three physical activity guidelines. RESULTS Over 90% of students met Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.6 and nearly 70% met the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group guideline, both of which recommend daily accumulation of moderate physical activity. Less than 3% met Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.7, which calls for bouts of continuous vigorous physical activity. For the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group guideline, compliance decreased markedly with age, but gender differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Prevalence estimates for compliance with national physical activity guidelines varied markedly for the three guidelines examined. Objective monitoring of physical activity in youth appears to be feasible and may provide more accurate prevalence rates than self-report measures.

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458 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Physical exercise and executive functions in preadolescent children, adolescents and young adults: a meta-analysis

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Lot Verburgh¹, Marsh Königs¹, Erik J. A. Scherder¹, Jaap Oosterlaan¹•Institutions (1)

VU University Amsterdam¹

01 Jun 2014-British Journal of Sports Medicine

TL;DR: It is suggested that acute physical exercise enhances executive functioning in preadolescent children and adolescents and the current increase in sedentary behaviour in these age groups.

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Abstract: Purpose The goal of this meta-analysis was to aggregate available empirical studies on the effects of physical exercise on executive functions in preadolescent children (6–12 years of age), adolescents (13–17 years of age) and young adults (18–35 years of age). Method The electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE and SPORTDiscus were searched for relevant studies reporting on the effects of physical exercise on executive functions. Nineteen studies were selected. Results There was a significant overall effect of acute physical exercise on executive functions (d=0.52, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.76, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the three age groups (Q (2)=0.13, p=0.94). Furthermore, no significant overall effect of chronic physical exercise (d=0.14, 95%CI −0.04 to 0.32, p=0.19) on executive functions (Q (1)=5.08, p<0.05) was found. Meta-analytic effect sizes were calculated for the effects of acute physical exercise on the domain's inhibition/interference control (d=0.46, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.60, p<0.001) and working memory (d=0.05, 95% CI −0.51 to 0.61, p=0.86) as well as for the effects of chronic physical exercise on planning (d=0.16, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.89, p=0.18). Conclusions Results suggest that acute physical exercise enhances executive functioning. The number of studies on chronic physical exercise is limited and it should be investigated whether chronic physical exercise shows effects on executive functions comparable to acute physical exercise. This is highly relevant in preadolescent children and adolescents, given the importance of well-developed executive functions for daily life functioning and the current increase in sedentary behaviour in these age groups.

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413 citations

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