ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2014
A 3-year school-based exercise intervention improves muscle strength - a prospective controlled population-based study in 223 children.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sex Differences in Upper- and Lower-Limb Muscle Strength in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis.European journal of sport science · 2025Pooled it
- School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Preliminary Impacts of a 3-Month School-Based Exercise and Data Recording Intervention on Lifestyle Habits, Psychological Health, and Physical Health in Japanese Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Is Higher Frequency Always Better? The Dose-Response Relationship Between Structured Physical Activity Frequency and Physical Fitness Improvement in Preschool Children.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Health Promotion Interventions in Primary Schools-A Mixed Methods Literature Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The effect of physical activity intervention and nutritional habits on anthropometric measures in elementary school children: the health oriented pedagogical project (HOPP).International journal of obesity (2005) · 2021Article
- Weight Management in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes and Obesity: Challenges and Possible Solutions.Current obesity reports · 2020Review
- Serum Renin Levels Increase With Age in Boys Resulting in Higher Renin Levels in Young Men Compared to Young Women, and Soluble Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Correlates With Renin and Body Mass Index.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- The Daily Mile: 15 Minutes Running Improves the Physical Fitness of Italian Primary School Children.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Relationship between lean body mass and isokinetic peak torque of knee extensors and flexors in severely burned children.Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries · 2019Article
- Food and beverage intakes according to physical activity levels in European children: the IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of Dietary and lifestyle induced health EFfects In Children and infantS) study.Public health nutrition · 2018Article
- Hand grip strength and maximum peak expiratory flow: determinants of bone mineral density of adolescent students.BMC pediatrics · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIntense physical activity (PA) improves muscle strength in children, but it remains uncertain whether moderately intense PA in a population-based cohort of children confers these benefits.
methodsWe included children aged 6-9 years in four schools where the intervention school increased the school curriculum of PA from 60 minutes/week to 40 minutes/school day while the control schools continued with 60 minutes/week for three years. We measured muscle strength, as isokinetic Peak Torque (PT) (Nm) of the knee flexors in the right leg at speeds of 60°/second and 180°/second, at baseline and at follow-up, in 47 girls and 76 boys in the intervention group and 46 girls and 54 boys in the control group and then calculated annual changes in muscle strength. Data are provided as means with 95% confidence intervals.
resultsGirls in the intervention group had 1.0 Nm (0.13, 1.9) and boys 1.9 Nm (0.9, 2.9) greater annual gain in knee flexor PT at 60°/second, than girls and boys in the control group. Boys in the intervention group also had 1.5 Nm (0.5, 2.5) greater annual gain in knee flexors PT at 180°/second than boys in the control group.
conclusionA 3-year moderately intense PA intervention program within the school curriculum enhances muscle strength in both girls and boys.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.