School-Based Physical Activity Interventions in Prevocational Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Exercise Science
• Educational Interventions

Background:

• Promoting physical activity (PA) in adolescents is crucial for long-term health.
• School-based interventions are a key strategy for reaching this population.
• Understanding effective intervention characteristics is vital for optimizing program design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review literature on school-based physical activity promotion interventions for prevocational adolescents.
• To identify specific intervention characteristics that enhance effectiveness.
• To determine the overall impact of these interventions on adolescent PA levels.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search and inclusion criteria assessment (study design, population, setting, language, construct).
• Risk of bias assessment and extraction of PA outcome measures and intervention features (organizational, social, content).
• Meta-analysis to determine overall intervention effect, with subgroup and meta-regression analyses for characteristic identification.

Main Results:

• A total of 40 studies were included in the meta-analyses.
• The overall intervention effect on increasing PA was weak (SMD .19, 95% CI .12-.27).
• Intracurricular PA, involving school staff, and tailored interventions significantly improved effect sizes to a moderate level.

Conclusions:

• School-based PA interventions yield small to moderate effects, but strategic design significantly boosts impact.
• Key determinants for enhanced effectiveness include organizational (intracurricular, duration), personal (tailoring, participation), social (staff involvement), and content factors.
• Recommendations for physical education teachers, administrators, and policymakers emphasize incorporating these effective characteristics into multicomponent interventions.