School-based physical activity interventions and language skills: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
J Sci Med Sport
; 26(2): 140-148, 2023 Feb.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36609085
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
School-based physical activity (PA) interventions have proven beneficial for improving cognitive performance and overall academic achievement, but their benefits on language skills remain unclear. We aimed to assess the effects of school-based PA interventions on language skills in children and adolescents.DESIGN:
Systematic review with meta-analysis.METHODS:
A systematic search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus until September 10th, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that performed a school-based PA intervention in children/adolescents and that assessed language-related outcomes (i.e., reading, spelling, vocabulary, verbal fluency, comprehension and grammar) or language school grades. Random effect meta-analyses were conducted to pool study results.RESULTS:
Thirty-one studies (18,651 participants) were finally included. Significant benefits were observed for reading (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.15; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08, 0.22), vocabulary (SMD 0.71; 95%CI 0.44, 0.97), and comprehension (SMD 0.24; 95%CI 0.09, 0.40), with a non-significant trend (pâ¯=â¯0.083) also observed for language school grades (SMD 0.40; 95%CI -0.05, 0.86). No significant benefits were observed for spelling or verbal fluency (both pâ¯>â¯0.05), and no meta-analysis could be performed for grammar skills. No consistent differences were observed between integrated (i.e., performing PA along with the academic content) and non-integrated PA interventions (e.g., extra physical education lessons).CONCLUSIONS:
School-based PA interventions appear as an effective strategy for improving different language-related skills, although further research is needed to determine how interventions' and participants' characteristics moderate these effects.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Schools
/
Exercise
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Systematic_reviews
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Sci Med Sport
Journal subject:
MEDICINA ESPORTIVA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
España
Publication country:
AU
/
AUSTRALIA
/
AUSTRÁLIA