SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Effects of In-Classroom Physical Activity Breaks on Children's Academic Performance, Cognition, Health Behaviours and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
22 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Classroom Movement Breaks in Relation to Health and Academic Outcomes: An Umbrella Review.The Journal of school health · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of classroom physical activity breaks on learning behaviors and academic achievements in university students: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Physical Activity, Cognitive Health and Learning in Youth: A Narrative Umbrella Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Could physical activity promote indicators of physical and psychological health among children and adolescents? An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Promoting Athletic Performance and Related Factors among Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Acute effect of school-based active breaks on physical activity level and on-task classroom behavior in primary schoolchildren.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- A school-level randomized preliminary study of in-classroom physical activity breaks among fifth graders.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2026Article
- The Effect of the Brain Breaks Physical Activity Program on Task Focus, Attentional Control, and Academic Achievement in 4th Grade Elementary School Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Associations Between Body Mass Index, Physical Activity, Perceived School Competence, and Academic Performance in Portuguese Elementary Students.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Physical Activity Initiatives in Australian Primary Schools: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2025Article
- Effects of a 7-week active breaks intervention program on physical literacy and body mass index.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Effects of plyometric-based structured game active breaks on fundamental movement skills, muscular fitness, self-perception, and actual behaviour in primary school students.Biology of sport · 2024Article
- Dissecting the causal relationship between moderate to vigorous physical activity levels and cognitive performance: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Effects of active breaks on educational achievement in children with and without ADHD: study protocol and rationale of the Break4Brain project.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Improvements in 4th graders' task behavior after physical activity: mediation by inhibition?Frontiers in cognition · 2024Article
- The association between health behaviours and academic performance moderated by trait mindfulness amongst university students: an observational study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Observational
- In-classroom physical activity breaks program among school children in Sri Lanka: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Can 16 Minutes of HIIT Improve Attentional Resources in Young Students?Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2023Article
- The Effects of Physical Activity on Academic Performance in School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In-Classroom physical activity breaks (IcPAB) are a promising way to promote children’s health behaviors, while contributing to the development of their academic and cognitive ability and health outcomes. Yet the effect of the activity breaks, which are exclusive to classroom settings, are still mixed and unclear. Hence, this review was conducted to identify the characteristics and the effects of IcPAB among primary school children. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021234192). Following the Cochrane guidelines, PubMed, PsycINFO (ProQuest), MEDLINE (EBSCOhost), Embase/Ovid, SportDISCUS (EBSCOhost), Web of Science, Scopus and Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) databases were searched to collect data on randomised control trials without a time restriction. The final database search was conducted on the 8 November 2021. Random effects models were used to calculate the effect sizes. The systematic review identified ten eligible studies, nine of which were also included in the meta-analysis. Few studies used the theoretical frameworks and process evaluations. IcPAB showed mixed effectiveness on academic outcomes: i.e., IcPAB had effects on spelling performance (p < 0.05) and foreign language learning (p < 0.01) but not on mathematics and reading performance. Health behaviors such as moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels were improved (p < 0.01), but IcPAB did not have an impact on cognition outcomes and health outcomes. Given these mixed results, further research is needed underpinned by strong methodological quality, theoretical underpinnings and reliable process evaluation methods.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.