SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1592098
This article is part of the Research TopicBuilding Health Through Physical Activity in Schools - Volume IIView all 17 articles
Effect of Physical Activity on Anthropometric and Physiological Parameters in Preschool and School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Provisionally accepted
- 1Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 2Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China
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Background: Early childhood is an essential phase characterized by physical, social, and cognitive development. This developmental stage lays the foundation for establishing lifelong health behavior patterns that can resonate into adolescence and adulthood. Despite the growing recognition of the significance of physical activity during crucial developmental periods, the advent of technology-driven modern society has induced a notable preference among children for a sedentary lifestyle. In addition, compared to research involving older children and adolescents, the existing evidence for preschool and school-based remains relatively limited in scope and depth. Objective: To assess the influence of exercise interventions on anthropometric factors, encompassing Body Mass Index (BMI), skinfold thickness (ST), BMI z-score, and Waist Circumference (WC), as well as physiological parameters, including Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) and Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), in both preschool and school-based children, and the comparison between these two age groups. Methods: Four databases were searched (such as Web of Science, The Cochrane library, Scopus, and Embase) and included only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing exercise interventions' impact on anthropometric measurements and blood pressure in children aged 1 to 12 years, including both preschoolers and school-aged children. The analysis used the standardized mean difference as the outcome measure and employed a random-effects model for data analysis. Results: From the results, including 29 RCTs, exercise interventions were linked to favorable reductions: BMI (μ = -0.317; 95% CI: -0.570 to -0.064), WC (μ = -0.010; 95% CI: -0.104–0.085), and ST (μ = -0.066; 95% CI: -0.293–0.161). Also, improvements occurred in DBP (μ = -0.068; 95% CI: -0.139–0.002) and SBP (μ = -0.186; 95% CI: -0.373–0.001). Subgroup analysis found no significant age group differences. Conclusion: This meta-analytical method provides substantial evidence affirming the effectiveness of physical exercise programs, regardless of age group, with a focus on gross motor skills, whether implemented alone or in conjunction with supplementary interventions, in reducing anthropometric parameters.
Keywords: preschool, School-based, Children, Obesity, Exercise, Meta-analysis
Received: 12 Mar 2025; Accepted: 22 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, WANG, Wang and Abdul Rahman. 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: QINGLEI WANG, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China
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