Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34187486›Full record

ReviewThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2021

Global prevalence of physical activity for children and adolescents; inconsistencies, research gaps, and recommendations: a narrative review.

Salomé Aubert, Javier Brazo-Sayavera, Silvia A González, Ian Janssen, Taru Manyanga, Adewale L Oyeyemi, Patrick Picard, Lauren B Sherar, Evan Turner, Mark S Tremblay

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 131 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
131citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
35.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

131 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 256 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Physical activity and two-year change in adolescent well-being in nine countries.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Pooled it
  11. Pooled it
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

71 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.

Salomé AubertHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Javier Brazo-SayaveraPDU EFISAL, Centro Universitario Regional Noreste, Universidad de la República, Rivera, Uruguay.
Silvia A GonzálezHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Ian JanssenSchool of Kinesiology and Health Studies, and Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Taru ManyangaSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Adewale L OyeyemiDepartment of Physiotherapy, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Patrick PicardHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Lauren B SherarSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
Evan TurnerCentre for Global Child Health and SickKids Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mark S TremblayHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. mtremblay@cheo.on.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-8307-3568
Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario · CALoughborough University · GBQueen's University · CASickKids Foundation · CAUniversidad de la República de Uruguay · UYUniversity of Maiduguri · NGUniversity of Ottawa · CA

Funding

Medical Research Council G0701877
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOne of the strategic actions identified in the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (PA) 2018-2030 is the enhancement of data systems and capabilities at national levels to support regular population surveillance of PA. Although national and international standardized surveillance of PA among children and adolescents has increased in recent years, challenges for the global surveillance of PA persist. The aims of this paper were to: (i) review, compare, and discuss the methodological inconsistencies in children and adolescents' physical activity prevalence estimates from intercontinental physical activity surveillance initiatives; (ii) identify methodological limitations, surveillance and research gaps.

methodsIntercontinental physical activity surveillance initiatives for children and adolescents were identified by experts and through non-systematic literature searches. Prevalence of meeting PA guidelines by country, gender, and age were extracted when available. A tool was created to assess the quality of the included initiatives. Methods and PA prevalence were compared across data/studies and against the methodological/validity/translation differences.

resultsEight intercontinental initiatives were identified as meeting the selection criteria. Methods and PA definition inconsistencies across and within included initiatives were observed, resulting in different estimated national prevalence of PA, and initiatives contradicting each other's cross-country comparisons. Three findings were consistent across all eight initiatives: insufficient level of PA of children and adolescents across the world; lower levels of PA among girls; and attenuation of PA levels with age. Resource-limited countries, younger children, children and adolescents not attending school, with disability or chronic conditions, and from rural areas were generally under/not represented.

conclusionsThere are substantial inconsistencies across/within included initiatives, resulting in varying estimates of the PA situation of children and adolescents at the global, regional and national levels. The development of a new PA measurement instrument that would be globally accepted and harmonized is a global health priority to help improve the accuracy and reliability of global surveillance.

Indexed as

ExerciseGlobal HealthPediatric ObesityAdolescentChildFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceReproducibility of ResultsSchoolsAccelerometryGlobal surveillanceInternational comparisonsPhysical activity questionnaireYouth

Identifiers

PMID34187486
PMCPMC8243483
OpenAlexW3177419021

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.