Abstract
Digital media are widespread among school-age children, and their incorrect use may lead to an increase in sedentary levels and the consequences associated with it. There are still few studies that have investigated whether physical activity levels could be increased through their use. The aim of this study was to systematically review the scientific literature in order to identify whether digital strategies and technologies are capable of increasing the level of physical activity. A literature search was performed using the following databases: Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The main outcomes evaluated the increase in physical activity levels, the number of steps, and the reduction of sedentary behaviors. Two trained researchers independently assessed eligible studies against eligibility criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. The Downs and Black checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies. A total of 15 studies (1122 children) were included in this systematic review, with a mean age of 8.45 ± 0.70 years. Quality assessment of the studies observed a “moderate quality” of the included records. The results of this systematic review highlight that digital media can be applied as a way to improve the levels of physical activity in children to contrast a sedentary lifestyle. The main limitations of the study are the heterogeneity within the exercise protocols and the paucity of studies involving school-age children. More research is needed to confirm our findings also due to continuing technological progress.
Highlights
Physical activity has been known as one of the most important issues related to children since a reduction in the level of physical activity can increase overweight and obesity, future cardiovascular diseases, reduced harmony in motor development, decreased motor skill competence, postural problems, and reduced bone and muscle mass [1,2]
A good percentage of children (~28.9%) do not practice any form of physical activity, and 30.4% of children age 6–10 years were overweight. These data were confirmed by the 2019 survey from Okkio alla Salute [5] concerning Italian children ages 8 and 9, in which it was reported that 20.3% of children in 2019 did not perform any physical activity the day before the survey, 43.5% still had a TV in their bedroom, and 44.5% of children spent more than 2 h a day in front of TV/tablet/mobile
A total of 123 studies were obtained after eliminating the duplicates, and after being screened. 112 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility
Summary
Physical activity has been known as one of the most important issues related to children since a reduction in the level of physical activity can increase overweight and obesity, future cardiovascular diseases, reduced harmony in motor development, decreased motor skill competence, postural problems, and reduced bone and muscle mass [1,2] In this vein, data from the Italian Institute of Statistics for the biennial 2017–2018 [3] report that. Sustainability 2021, 13, 11270 tainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW which in turn may have negatively modified their lifestyles by increasing time spent in sedentary behaviors [6] In this context, Dunton et al [7] showed that American children decreased physical activity levels between the months before and during the lockdown
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