SynthesisFrontiers in public health2025
Effects of school-based physical activity on academic achievement in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The impact of physical activity on children's attention and math performance: A meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity and School Engagement in Adolescents Attending Rural and Urban Schools in Southern Spain.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Physical activity and academic performance in adolescents: a systematic review of intensity, frequency, and mediating factors.Journal of exercise rehabilitation · 2026Review
- A yoga-integrated mind-body movement intervention: effects on children's problem solving, mathematics anxiety, and physical activity.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Students' aerobic fitness, self-regulation, and mathematical performance in primary school.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Heterogeneity manifestation and formation mechanism of school youth sports activity quality: a multi-case comparative study based on the configurational perspective.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and cognitive function in children and adolescents: a scoping review of dose-response relationships, screen time interactions, and public health implications.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Review
- A study on the environmental characteristics and social support for physical activity among adolescents: implications for public health nursing.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- The impact of physical activity on academic performance in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: This study explores how school-based physical activity affects the academic achievement of children and adolescents and examines whether factors like activity type or duration influence results. Method: We registered the review in PROSPERO (CRD42024623670). We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase databases for peer-reviewed English-language randomized or quasi-experimental studies published through 8 December 2024. Reference lists and gray literature were reviewed. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool assessed study quality, with findings analyzed through subgroup and sensitivity analysis. Review Manager 5.4 calculated the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model. Results: Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis indicated physical activity programs significantly improved academic achievement, especially in mathematics (SMD = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.04-0.18, Conclusion: School-based physical activity positively impacts academic achievement, particularly in mathematics and overall performance. Longer, moderate-intensity interventions are most effective, offering insights for future educational program development. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42024623670, CRD42024623670.
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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.