SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Physical Activity in the Prevention and Management of Disease
Effects of Exercise Snacks on Body Composition in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Based on Evidence from Bioimpedance and DXA Methods
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
- 2Beijing College of Finance and Commerce, Beijing, China
- 3Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China
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This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effects of exercise snacks (ES) on body composition in adults. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, FMRS, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library was conducted from inception to May 2025, supplemented by backward and forward citation tracking. Eight articles comprising nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that ES interventions produced a statistically significant improvement in lean mass (MD = 0.52kg, 95% CI: 0.13–0.91, p = 0.01). In contrast, no statistically significant effects were observed for body fat (MD = -0.04%, 95% CI: -0.73–0.65, p = 0.91) or body mass (MD = 0.03kg, 95% CI: -0.53–0.60, p = 0.91). The findings support that ES interventions can enhance lean body mass. However, there is currently no convincing evidence that ES reduces body fat. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered on PROSPERO (CRD420250651818).
Keywords: body composition2, body fat5, exercise snack1, meta-analysis3, Obesity4
Received: 04 Aug 2025; Accepted: 11 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 LIN, Zheng, Shuai, Wang, Guo, Wang and Wu. 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: Yubo Wang
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