SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Movement Science
The Influence of Outdoor Physical Activity on the Physical and Mental Health of College Students: A Systematic Review
- JF
Jianfeng Fu
- 张焱
张 焱超
- ZC
Zeng Cheng
Guangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanning, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Objective: Outdoor activity plays a significant role in promoting physical and mental health, but the impact of outdoor physical activity on college students’ physical and mental health remains unclear. Clarifying this relationship will inform mental health interventions and the design of campus activities. Therefore, this study aims to systematically investigate the influence of outdoor physical activity on college students’ physical and mental health. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science databases for English-language literature published from the inception of each database through March 2026. The literature screening process consisted of three stages: removal of duplicates, title and abstract screening, and full-text review. The entire study strictly followed the PRISMA guidelines, and the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Results: This study ultimately included 32 studies involving a total of 7,274 university students. It was established that outdoor physical activity has positive influences on multiple psychological dimensions among university students, including depression, stress, emotional state, vitality, self-esteem, well-being, and academic burnout. However, no consistent conclusions have been reached regarding the effects of outdoor physical activity on anxiety and attention. Additionally, outdoor physical activity has a positive influence on enhancing physical activity levels and promoting physical health among university students. Conclusion: Outdoor physical activity can influence the physical and mental health of college students. However, the current number of studies examining the influence of outdoor physical activity on physical activity levels and physical health among college students is relatively limited, and related conclusions should be interpreted with caution. Future research should adopt more rigorous study designs and further examine the effects of different forms of outdoor physical activity on the physical health of college students.
Summary
Keywords
college students, Outdoor physical activity, physical and mental health, review, systematic
Received
03 June 2026
Accepted
30 July 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Fu, 焱超 and Cheng. 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: 张 焱超
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.