Table 1 Descriptors of systematic reviews
Authors | Populationa | Number and design of relevant studies | Author’s conclusions | AMSTAR-2 ratingb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Álvarez-Bueno et al. [23] | Healthy children and adolescents (4–13 years) | 26 intervention studies (8 non-RCT) | PA benefits several aspects of academic achievement, particularly maths, reading and composite scores | Critically low (10.5) |
Álvarez-Bueno et al. [38] | Healthy children and adolescents (4–18 years) | 36 intervention studies (5 non-RCT) | PA benefits several domains of non-executive, executive and meta-cognitive functions and skills, with curricular PE interventions being most effective | Critically low (10.5) |
Bustamante, Williams, and Davis [39] | Overweight or obese children and/or adolescents | 14 intervention studies (5 non-RCT) | Positive effects on cognitive and neurologic outcomes in high-quality RCTs, but all studies showing neurologic benefits were from the same group | Critically low (4.5) |
de Greeff et al. [24] | Primary school children (6–12 years) | 14 intervention studies (3 non-RCT)c | Positive effects were found for physical activity on executive functions, attention and academic performance; largest effects are expected for interventions that aim for continuous regular physical activity over several weeks | Critically low (8) |
Gunnell et al. [27] | Healthy children (1–17.99 years) | 49 RCTc | PA is unrelated or beneficial for cognitive function (incl. academic achievement), brain function and brain structure | Critically low (8) |
Haapala [28] | Healthy children and adolescents (7–16 years) | 4 RCTc | Review does not support the idea that PA interventions are effective at enhancing academic performance; short intervention times (less than 36 and 64 weeks) have little effect. | Critically low (3.5) |
Jackson et al. [40] | Healthy children (7–12 years) | 8 RCT | Increased regular physical activity is associated with a small and measurable improvement in neuropsychological tests of executive functions, specifically inhibitory control | Critically low (6.5) |
Lees and Hopkins [29] | Children and adolescents (< 19 years) | 4 RCT | PA is positively associated with cognition and academic achievement | Critically low (4.5) |
Li et al. [30] | Healthy adolescents (13–18 years) | 2 intervention studies (1 non-RCT)c | PA effect on cognitive and academic performance is equivocal and limited in quantity and quality | Critically low (5.5) |
Lubans et al. [41] | Children (7–11 years) | 6 RCT (3 unique studies) | There is a lack of available evidence regarding neurobiological mechanisms | Critically low (5.5) |
Martin et al. [31] | Overweight or obese children (3–18 years) | 8 RCT | High-quality evidence for composite executive functions, but not academic achievement, attention, cognitive flexibility or inhibition control; however, this evidence is based on a small number of studies | High (16) |
Martin and Murtagh [32] | Children (5–12 years) | 4 intervention studies(2 non-RCT) | All of the studies (s = 4) reported some positive effects of physically active academic lessons on learning outcomes | Critically low (5.5) |
Mura et al. [33] | Healthy children (3–18 years) | 28 intervention studies (7 non-RCT) | Positive effects of PA interventions on academic achievement and cognitive performance | Critically low (3.5) |
Pucher, Boot, and Vries [34] | School-aged children | 4 intervention studies (3 non-RCT) | No negative effects of PA on academic performance and some positive effects | Critically low (5.5) |
Singh et al. [25] | Healthy children and adolescents (3–16 years) | 11 high-quality intervention studies (3 non-RCT; out of 58 interventions) | Inconclusive evidence for beneficial effects of PA on cognitive or academic performance, but strong evidence for beneficial effects on maths performance | Low (10.5) |
Spruit et al. [26] | Children and adolescents (mean age 11–18) | 10 intervention studies (3 non-RCT), including dissertations | PA interventions are effective in improving academic performance | Critically low (4.5) |
Suarez-Manzano et al. [36] | Children and adolescents with ADHD (6–18 years) | 7 intervention studies (1 non-RCT) | Systematic PA (≥ 30 min per day, ≥ 40%, intensity, ≥ three days per week, ≥ five weeks) further improves attention and inhibition | Critically low (4.5) |
Vazou et al. [35] | Typically developing children and adolescents (4–16 years) | 27 intervention studies (3 non-RCT) | PA interventions have a positive impact on cognition, but more research is needed | Critically low (3.5) |
Verburgh et al. [37] | Children and adolescents (6–17), but one study in young adults | 5 RCTc | Inconsistent results regarding the effects of exercise on executive functions | Critically low (7.5) |