Impact of school physical activity on physical and mental health in children and adolescents: A Meta-analysis based on RE-AIM
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Published online on June 08, 2026
Abstract
{"p"=>"The RE-AIM framework was used to assess and analyze the impact of school physical activity on children and adolescents’ physical and mental health. A search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, EBSCO, and Web of Science was conducted from when the databases were created until December 2024. Articles included studies on school-based physical activity interventions and physical and mental health of children and adolescents. The screened literature was evaluated for quality, data extraction, standardized mean difference (SMD), Mean difference(MD) and confidence intervals (95% CI) were used as effect indicators. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias for the included studies. Preferred reporting items were used using systematic evaluation and meta-analysis guidelines combined with meta-analysis with the RE-AIM framework. A total of 19 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in the meta-analysis, and the results of the meta-analysis showed that school physical activity improved adolescents’ and children’s athletic ability (SMD = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.23 ~ 0.43), reduced BMI (MD=-0.50, 95% CI=-0.81~-0.19) and improved Fitness self-perceptions (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.22 ~ 0.40). In terms of mental health, school physical activity improved children and adolescents’ self-reported questionnaire scores (SMD = 0.21,95%CI = 0.12 ~ 0.30) and reduced anxiety, depression and stress levels (MD=-0.53,95%CI=-0.85~-0.22). That is, school physical activity is associated with improvements in both physical health and the mental health of adolescents and children. In addition, the RE-AIM framework reported the effectiveness of sports interventions on health, with higher proportions of the Reach, Efficacy, and Adoption dimensions in the RE-AIM framework than in Implementation and Maintenance. A comprehensive assessment of the impact of school physical activity was conducted through meta-analysis and RE-AIM framework, which showed that school physical activity is associated with improvements in both the physical and mental health of children and adolescents and that RE-AIM framework reported the quality of physical activity interventions to improve the physical and mental health of children and adolescents, achieving a balance of internal and external validity in comparison."}