SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1651883
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegration of physical activity for academic excellence and health promotion in adolescents and school childrenView all 3 articles
Effects of School-Based Physical Activity on Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- 2Yangzhou Wenhe primary school, Yangzhou, China
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Objective: This study explores how school-based physical activity affects the academic achievement of children and adolescents and examines whether factors like activity type or duration influence results. Method: We registered the review in PROSPERO (CRD42024623670). We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase databases for peer‑reviewed English‑language randomized or quasi‑experimental studies published through 8 December 2024. Reference lists and grey literature were reviewed. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool assessed study quality, with findings analyzed through subgroup and sensitivity analysis. Review Manager 5.4 calculated the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model. Results: Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis indicated physical activity programs significantly improved academic achievement, especially in mathematics (SMD = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.18, P = 0.001; I2 = 55%) and overall academic achievement (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.44, P = 0.040; I2 = 74%). Subgroup analysis revealed moderate-intensity activity positively correlated with mathematics (SMD = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.15, P = 0.040; I2 = 37%) and overall academic achievement (SMD = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.57, P = 0.001; I2 = 70%) results. High-intensity activity showed a positive effect on mathematics (SMD = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.68, P = 0.003; I2 = 6%). Short-duration (<24 weeks) interventions positively impacted reading comprehension (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.46, P = 0.030; I2 = 69%), while longer interventions (≥24 weeks) improved This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article mathematics (SMD = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.23, P = 0.010; I2 = 66%) and overall academic achievement (SMD = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.68, P < 0.001; I2 = 14% ). Despite these significant findings, substantial heterogeneity was observed in several analyses, indicating that the results should be interpreted with caution. Conclusion: School-based physical activity positively impacts academic achievement, particularly in mathematics and overall performance. Longer, moderate-intensity interventions are most effective, offering insights for future educational program development.
Keywords: physical activity, Academic Achievement, Children, adolescents, Meta-analysis
Received: 22 Jun 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 He, Yang, Sun, Wang, Zhang and Zhu. 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: Fengshu Zhu, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
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