Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026
Physical Activity Measurement in Children Accepting Table Tennis Training
Published on: July 27, 2022
Interventions with children and parents to improve physical activity and body mass index: a meta-analysis
Objective:
Examine the effect of interventions with parents and children on children's physical activity and body mass index (BMI).
Data Source:
Computerized searches for intervention studies published between 1990 and 2011 used multiple ProQuest databases, including unpublished dissertations and theses to minimize publication bias.
Study Inclusion And Exclusion Criteria:
English-language, intervention-testing studies of children, parents, or families with outcomes of physical activity or BMI were retrieved from peer-reviewed journals, dissertations, and theses. Eliminated studies had no control or comparison group; had no continuous outcome variable; had no physical activity/exercise and/or BMI as outcomes; or had incomplete statistics necessary for meta-analysis (means, standard deviations, or confidence intervals).
Data Extraction:
Twenty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Quality criteria were control group, objective outcome variable measure, clarity of variable definitions, and number and reason for subject withdrawal.
Data Synthesis:
Meta-analysis on the raw difference of means estimated mean weighted effect size (MWES) assessed dispersion of effects and computed a summary effect.
Results:
MWES for interventions with parents and children on physical activity (Z = 2.92; confidence interval [CI] = .09 to .48; p = .002) and on BMI for interventions with children alone (Z = -2.10; CI = -.16 to -.01; p = .02) was significant.
Conclusion:
A significant effect on physical activity but not on BMI was found when interventions included both parents and their children.
