SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1611496
This article is part of the Research TopicImpact of Physical Activity on Health and Behavioral Risks in AdolescentsView all 14 articles
Effectiveness of family-centered intervention programs on objectively measured physical activity in children aged under 13: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Provisionally accepted
- 1Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao, SAR China
- 2Jiangsu Sports Science Research Institute, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China
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Introduction: This review aims to evaluate the efficacy of family-centered physical activity interventions, as assessed through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in children under 13. To ensure higher quality and reduce measurement bias, a quantitative approach was employed.: A detailed search was systematically conducted in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Embase for studies published between January 2013 and February 2024. Only RCTs investigating the efficacy of family-centered interventions using objective measurements in children under 13 were included. Study characteristics were systematically summarized, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and subgroup analyses were conducted in RevMan 5.4 to explore potential effects.Results: Ten studies, comprising a total of 1557 parent-child dyads, met the inclusion criteria.The mean age of participants ranged from 3 to 11 years. The studies assessed various outcomes, including MVPA and sedentary time. Meta-analysis revealed that family-centered interventions were significantly associated with increased MVPA (WMD = 5.13, 95% CI = 1.09 to 9.17, p = 0.01). However, no significant difference in SB was found between the intervention and control groups (WMD = -2.24, 95% CI = -9.33 to 4.86, p = 0.54). Subgroup analyses showed significant effects for short-term interventions (WMD = 9.08, 95% CI = 2.54 to 15.62, p = 0.007) and on weekends (SMD = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.33 to 0.93, p < 0.05).Conclusions: Family-centered interventions are a promising approach to enhancing children's MVPA, particularly in the short-term and on weekends. However, the effect on reducing SB appears limited. Future research should focus on larger, more diverse samples (e.g., populations in developing countries), utilize high-quality measurement tools, and novel outcomes (e.g., FMS) to better assess the effectiveness of these interventions.
Keywords: Family Intervention, physical activity, Exercise, parent, Child
Received: 14 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Lam, Lin, Yang, Yin and Li. 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: Lawrence T Lam, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao, SAR China
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