The Effect of School-Based Physical Activity Interventions on Body Mass Index Among ‎Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Randomised Trials

Abstract

Obesity has become a global health concern among the child and adolescent populations. We performed a systematic review for an indirect comparison of the effectiveness of aerobic exercise (AE) school-based physical activity (SBPA) interventions versus resistance training (RT) SBPA interventions in changing adolescent body mass index (BMI). OVID Medline, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched. All English-language, peer-reviewed randomized control trials (RCTs) that examined SBPA inter- ventions and objectively measured BMI as an outcome in adolescents aged 10-18 were eligible for inclusion. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. Of the 355 records identified, 10 met the eligibility criteria and 5 were included in the best evidence synthesis (BES). Five studies had a high risk of bias, two had some concerns and three had a low risk of bias. In the BES, this study found that both types of interventions reported either decreases or maintenance in BMI. However, due to the limited number of included studies, this review was unable to conduct an indirect comparison of the effects of AE and RT on changes in BMI. This finding could be beneficial in the planning of strategies to address overweight and obesity in adolescents. Further RCTs with a low risk of bias are required to compare the effects of AE and RT SBPA on BMI in adolescents.