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. 2021 Aug 11:9:720830.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.720830. eCollection 2021.

Effects of Family Intervention on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Children Aged 2.5-12 Years: A Meta-Analysis

Ting Huang  1 , Guanggao Zhao  1 , Haoyuan Tan  2 , Hua Wu  3 , Jinmei Fu  4 , Shunli Sun  4 , Wendi Lv  1 , Zihao He  1 , Qiming Hu  1 , Minghui Quan  5
Affiliations

Effects of Family Intervention on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Children Aged 2.5-12 Years: A Meta-Analysis

Ting Huang et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Introduction: To use a quantitative approach to examine the effects of family interventions on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in children aged 2. 5-12 years. Methods: PubMed, OVID, Web of Science, and others were searched from their inception to May 2020. Intervention studies that examined the effects of family interventions on PA among children aged 2.5-12 years were included in this meta-analysis. Lastly, subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the potential modifying effects of family intervention's characteristics and study quality. Results: Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Studies investigated a range of PA outcomes, including moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), total PA (TPA), daily steps, and SB levels. Meta-analysis showed that family intervention had a significant effect on PA [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.01-0.19], especially for daily steps [weight means difference (WMD) = 1,006; 95% CI = 209-1,803], but not for SB (WMD = -0.38; 95% CI = -7.21-6.46). Subgroup analyses indicated the improvements in PA occurred when children were 6-12 years old, intervention focused on PA only, intervention duration ≤ 10 weeks, and "low risk of bias" study performed. Conclusions: Family intervention may be a promising way to promote children's PA levels, especially for daily steps. Trial Registration: Meta-analysis protocol was registered on PROSPERO: CRD42020193667.

Keywords: children; family intervention; meta-analytic review; parents; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Article selection flow chart for the meta-analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias graph each risk of bias item presented as percentages.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of bias of included studies. (Green = low risk of bias; yellow = unclear risk of bias; red = high risk of bias).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of family intervention on PA in children aged 2.5–12 years. (Yoong-MVPA; Yoong2-TPA).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot of family intervention on SB in children aged 2.5–12 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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