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. 2020 May 18;17(10):3528.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103528.

Are There Effective Interventions to Increase Physical Activity in Children and Young People? An Umbrella Review

Alice Mannocci  1 , Valeria D'Egidio  1 , Insa Backhaus  1 , Antonio Federici  2 , Alessandra Sinopoli  3 , Andrea Ramirez Varela  4 , Paolo Villari  1 , Giuseppe La Torre  1
Affiliations

Are There Effective Interventions to Increase Physical Activity in Children and Young People? An Umbrella Review

Alice Mannocci et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Obesity and physical inactivity among children and young people are public health concerns. While numerous interventions to promote physical activity are available, little is known about the most effective ones. This study aimed to summarize the existing evidence on interventions that aim to increase physical activity.

Methods: A systematic review of reviews was conducted. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses published from January 2010 until November 2017 were identified through PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Library. Two reviewers independently assessed titles and abstracts, performed data extraction and quality assessment. Outcomes as level of physical activity and body mass index were collected in order to assess the efficacy of interventions.

Results: A total 30 studies examining physical activity interventions met the inclusion criteria, 15 systematic reviews and 15 meta-analyses. Most studies (N = 20) were implemented in the school setting, three were developed in preschool and childcare settings, two in the family context, five in the community setting and one miscellaneous context. Results showed that eight meta-analyses obtained a small increase in physical activity level, out of which five were conducted in the school, two in the family and one in the community setting. Most promising programs had the following characteristics: included physical activity in the school curriculum, were long-term interventions, involved teachers and had the support of families.

Conclusion: The majority of interventions to promote physical activity in children and young people were implemented in the school setting and were multicomponent. Further research is needed to investigate nonschool programs.

Keywords: chronic diseases; health prevention; physical activity programs; systematic review of review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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