Objective: To describe the chronic physical activity at school effects on children and adolescents' cognitive performance, examining different types of intervention in the school environment.
Design: A systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression was conducted including experimental studies reporting the effects of physical activity at school on cognitive performance in children and adolescents.
Data sources: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library from database inception to February 30, 2023.
Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Studies with: (P) healthy children and adolescents, (I) interventions with physical activity at school (sports, general physical activity, and physical exercises), (C) a control group, (O) cognitive flexibility, working memory, inhibitory control, and attention outcomes; and (S) Randomised trials of RCTs and longitudinal designs.
Results: Eighteen studies were included. The interventions were divided into three groups: different team games, general physical activity, and different physical exercises. Physical activity at school was associated with changes in cognitive flexibility (g: 0.244; 95% CI 0.116 to 0.373; p <0.001; I-2 = 0%); in working memory (g: 0.123; 95% CI 0.028 to 0.219; p = 0.012; I-2 = 14%); in inhibitory control (g: 0.122; 95% CI 0.062 to 0.182; p < 0.001; I-2 = 3%); and in attention (g: 0.100; 95% CI 0.040 to 0.161; p < 0.001; I-2 = 0%).
Conclusion: Our results support that interventions with chronic physical activity at school have a positive effect on cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, working memory, and attention in children and adolescents. Subgroup analyses established that the impact on each outcome essentially depends on the type of intervention performed. Meta-regression showed that age was a valid predictor of improvements in working memory
Prospero registration: CRD42021274668.
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