SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
This article is part of the Research TopicCombating Social Isolation Among Youth: Strategies for Enhancing Mental and Physical HealthView all 7 articles
The Impact of Basketball on the Physical Health of Chinese Middle School Students Aged 12–18: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- School of physical education, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, China
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【Abstract】 Purpose:This systematic review evaluates the impact of basketball on the physical fitness of Chinese middle school students, providing evidence-based support for research on how basketball enhances the physical health of Chinese students aged 12–18. Method:Using CNKI, WanFang, WeiPu, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane as search databases, the search period spanned from the inception of each database to March 4, 2025. Literature screening was conducted using the PICOST model. Ultimately, 9 publications comprising 16 studies were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the PRISMA statement and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Statistical analysis and publication bias testing were performed using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 17 software. Result:The study included 736 secondary school students, comprising 387 in the experimental group and 349 in the control group. Meta-analysis findings indicate that basketball positively impacts secondary school pupils' physical fitness, with statistically significant outcomes. However, effects vary across different fitness components. Basketball demonstrated statistically significant effects on 50m sprint performance [MD = -0.41s, 95% CI (-0.45, -0.36), P < 0.00001]. Basketball training also produced statistically significant effects on sit-and-reach flexibility [MD=2.22cm, 95% CI (1.02, 3.41), P=0.0003 < 0.05]. Basketball participation yielded statistically significant effects on middle school students' standing long jump performance [MD=4.18cm, 95% CI (2.56, 5.79), p<0.00001]. Basketball participation had statistically significant effects on middle school students' sit-up performance [MD=4.58t, 95% CI (2.66, 6.50), P<0.00001]. Basketball participation had a statistically significant effect on secondary school students' 1000m performance [MD = -11.70s, 95% CI (-20.00, -3.39), P = 0.006 < 0.05]. Basketball participation had a statistically significant effect on secondary school pupils' 800m performance [MD = -10.59s, 95% CI (-15.46, -5.72), P < 0.0001]. However, basketball participation did not yield statistically significant effects on pull-up performance. Conclusion: Basketball training yields comprehensive benefits for enhancing the physical fitness of secondary school students, with improvements primarily observed in speed, flexibility, strength, and endurance. However, no significant enhancement in upper-body strength was noted. The extent of improvement varied according to gender, year group, and duration of the intervention programme.
Keywords: Basketball, Secondary school pupils, Physical Fitness, Meta-analysis, Health
Received: 26 Aug 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Wang, Xu, Sun and Lin. 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: Hengtong Wang
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