Effectiveness of school-based PA interventions on cognitive function among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Mini-Oral Presentation A1.2

Authors

  • Xiaoqing Hu Shanghai University of Sport
  • Xiao Ma Shanghai University of Sport
  • Fei Xin Shanghai University of Sport
  • Yan Tang Shanghai University of Sport

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.425

Keywords:

School-Based Interventions, Physical Activity, Cognitive Function

Abstract

Background: Physical activity (PA) is important for children’s development of cognitive function (CF), but the effect of school-based PA intervention remains to be discussed. Purpose: To examine the impact of school-based PA intervention on overall CF and the potential moderating effects of gender, BMI, and time and frequency of interventions among children and adolescents via meta-analyses. Method: There were seven electronic databases included for eligible studies that investigated the effect of school-based PA interventions on CFs in children and adolescents. Results were reported as standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals by a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses compared the effects of PA on different CF domains. The protocol was registered at PROSPERO numbered CRD42020158970. Results: Twenty studies with 5274 participants aged 6–17 years were included. The results indicated a significant improvement of school-based PA interventions on the overall CFs (Cohens’ d =0.21; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.34; p<0.01) and executive function (Cohens’ d =0.14; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.23; p<0.01). Subgroup analysis showed a unique improvement of sports and PA programme on CFs (Cohens’d=0.34; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.59; p=0.006) without any significant moderators. Conclusions: School-based PA has a small positive effect on CF among children and adolescents. More research is needed to reveal the dose-response effect between school-based PA intervention and CFs in children and adolescents and to mine the moderators of this association. Funding: Key Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (No.18ATY008).

Published

2021-09-30

How to Cite

Hu, X., Ma, X., Xin, F., & Tang, Y. (2021). Effectiveness of school-based PA interventions on cognitive function among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis: Mini-Oral Presentation A1.2. The Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.425