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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Social Pediatrics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1532035
This article is part of the Research Topic Health benefit and promotion of 24-hour movement behaviors in children and adolescents View all 3 articles
Are school-based behavioural interventions an effective strategy for improving physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents? A meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted- 1 School of Sports Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China
- 2 School of Physical Education, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
OBJECTIVE: This systematic evaluation and meta-analysis [PROSPERO CRD42024598218] was conducted in order to summarise the effectiveness of a body of school-based behavioural interventions on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of the literature up to November 2024 using PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS. The methodological quality of the included literature was assessed using the Cochrane Risk Assessment Tool. RESULTS: Of the 6,071 search records initially identified, 26 studies were considered eligible for systematic evaluation and meta-analysis. School-based behavioural interventions were effective in increasing moderate-intensity physical activity [standardised mean difference (SMD), 0.18 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.31), p = 0.01]. School-based behavioural interventions failed to reduce ST (sedentary time) [-0.04 (95% CI, -0.08 to -0.01), p = 0.12] and failed to improve low-intensity PA (LPA) [0.18 (95% CI, -0.07 to 0.44), p = 0.16]. Subgroup analyses showed that school-based behavioural interventions were more effective in improving moderate-intensity PA in children and adolescents who were in school [0.46 (95% CI, 0.20 to 0.72), p = 0.02]. School-based behavioral interventions do not differentiate moderate-intensity physical activity among children and adolescents of different ages, [0.18 (95% CI, 0.05 to 0.31), p = 0.1], nor do they make a difference in moderate-intensity physical activity among children and adolescents in different regions[0.18 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.31), p = 0.12]. CONCLUSION: School-based behavioural interventions are effective in increasing moderate-intensity PA among children and adolescents, particularly those who were in school.
Keywords: school-based behavioural intervention, Children and adolescents, physical activity, Sedentary behaviour, 24-hour movement behaviors
Received: 21 Nov 2024; Accepted: 26 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo, He and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Liangru Guo, School of Sports Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China
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