Compensation or Displacement of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies

Franziska Beck,Anne Kerstin Reimers,Florian A Engel

doi:10.3390/children9030351

Franziska Beck, Anne Kerstin Reimers + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/children9030351

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Abstract

Regular physical activity during childhood and adolescence is associated with health benefits. Consequently, numerous health promotion programs for children and adolescents emphasize the enhancement of physical activity. However, the ActivityStat hypothesis states that increases in physical activity in one domain are compensated for by decreasing physical activity in another domain. Currently, little is known about how physical activity varies in children and adolescents within intervals of one day or multiple days. This systematic review provides an overview of studies that analyzed changes in (overall) physical activity, which were assessed with objective measurements, or compensatory mechanisms caused by increases or decreases in physical activity in a specific domain in children and adolescents. A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SportDiscus) was performed with a priori defined inclusion criteria. Two independent researchers screened the literature and identified and rated the methodological quality of the studies. A total of 77 peer-reviewed articles were included that analyzed changes in overall physical activity with multiple methodological approaches resulting in compensation or displacement. Of 40,829 participants, 16,265 indicated compensation associated with physical activity. Subgroup analyses separated by study design, participants, measurement instrument, physical activity context, and intervention duration also showed mixed results toward an indication of compensation. Quality assessment of the included studies revealed that they were of high quality (mean = 0.866). This review provides inconclusive results about compensation in relation to physical activity. A trend toward increased compensation in interventional studies and in interventions of longer duration have been observed.

Highlights

This systematic review provides an overview of studies that analyzed changes in physical activity, which were assessed with objective measurements, or compensatory mechanisms caused by increases or decreases in physical activity in a specific domain in children and adolescents
physical activity (PA) as a Civil Skill Program was published in two studies that focused on LPA [52] and moderate PA (MPA) [53], respectively
The present systematic review aims to provide a synthesis of studies that have analyzed changes in overall PA, assessed using objective measurements, or compensatory behavior caused by PA increases or decreases in a specific PA domain or during the timespan of one day in children and adolescents

Summary

Introduction

Regular physical activity (PA) during childhood and adolescence is associated with numerous health benefits [1]. As a result of regular PA, physical fitness in children increases, and is associated with improvements in cardiovascular [2] and cardiometabolic [1,2] health, as well as with a reduction in obesity risk [3–5]. PA is associated with better mental health in children and adolescents [6,7]. In line with these findings, the World Health Organization (WHO) [8,9] developed PA recommendations for children and adolescents. It is recommended for children 5 to 17 years of age to accumulate at least 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) daily [9]. Recent analyses have demonstrated that PA levels of children and adolescents in many regions worldwide are not meeting the WHO recommendations [10–12]

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