SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1634313
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Physical Activity in Healthy Aging: Mechanisms and InterventionsView all 15 articles
Impact of Physical Exercise on Health and Social Interaction in Elderly: A Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
- 2Taizhou Vocational College of Science and Technology, Taizhou, China
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Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of physical exercise on the physical and mental health of elderly using meta-analysis and to analyze the moderating variables influencing this relationship. The goal was to provide a scientific basis for identifying effective exercise methods to enhance the physical and mental health of the elderly. Methods: A literature search was conducted in databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Data were processed using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 18.0 statistical software. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model, and relevant moderating variables were tested. Results: The study findings indicated that physical activity significantly improves the physical and mental health of elderly across various dimensions. Specifically, it showed a large effect size for enhancing social interactions (standardized mean difference (SMD)=0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI)[0.14,0.69], P=0.0002), a medium effect size for improving physical health (SMD=0.42, 95% CI[0.20, 0.48], P=0.003), and a small effect size for improving mental health (SMD=0.34, 95% CI[0.37, 1.19], P<0.001). All differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: Physical exercise has a positive impact on improving the physical and mental health of elderly, particularly in enhancing physical health, psychological well-being, and social interactions.
Keywords: physical exercise, physical health, Mental Health, social interaction, Elderly, Meta-analysis
Received: 03 Jun 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tao, Li, Huang, Cao and Zhuang. 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:
Meng Tao, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
Jie Zhuang, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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.