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Meta-Analysis
. 2025 Mar 18;25(1):1050.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22170-z.

Effectiveness of wearable activity trackers on physical activity among adolescents in school-based settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Xiaoyu Chen  1   2 , Fengyi Wang  1   2 , Huiqing Zhang  3 , Yang Lin  1   2 , Shijie Zhu  1   2 , Yonghong Yang  4   5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effectiveness of wearable activity trackers on physical activity among adolescents in school-based settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Xiaoyu Chen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: While inactivity and sedentarism among adolescents are increasing globally, technology-based interventions incorporating wearable activity trackers (WATs) demonstrate the potential to combat the situation. With a focus on schools as critical environments in which to perform interventions among adolescents, this meta-analytic review of literature aimed to examine the effectiveness of wearable trackers in objectively measured physical activity (PA).

Methods: A systematic search was conducted across six databases-PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, the Web of Science Core Collection, and PsycINFO-between January 2012 and March 2024. The language was restricted to English only. Both randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiment studies were included. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane RoB2 and ROBINS-I tools. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed. Effect direction for a narrative synthesis was also conducted. GRADE criteria were applied to assess quality of evidence.

Results: Fifteen studies were finally included in the literature review, and ten were adopted for meta-analysis. No statistical significance was found in intervention outcomes involving WATs' effect on PA, whether in terms of total daily steps, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), or calorie counts. However, the subgroup analysis revealed that one study using research-grade assessment showed a substantial positive effect on steps. There were no data reported regarding the effect of objectively measured sedentary behavior.

Conclusion: Further study is needed to explore whether wearable activity trackers raise or decrease PA among adolescents in schools.

Registration: PROSPERO, registration number: CRD42023421008.

Keywords: Adolescents; Physical activity; Schools; Wearable activity trackers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow of study selection from Covidence
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Risk of bias assessment results based on study type. a risk of bias assessment result of the RCT study; b risk of bias assessment results of the CRCT studies; c risk of bias assessment results of non RCT studies (quasi-experimental studies and pre-post experimental studies without control group). Citation: McGuinness, LA, Higgins, JPT. Risk-of-bias VISualization (robvis): An R package and Shiny web app for visualizing risk-of-bias assessments. Res Syn Meth. 2020; 1- 7. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1411
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plots based on outcomes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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