Effect of interventions based on regular physical activity on weight management in adolescents: a systematic review and a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effects of educational interventions on promoting regular physical activity in adolescent weight management programs. METHODS: The relevant studies indexed in Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest databases were searched using keywords namely “Physical Activity, Adolescent, Weight Management, Body Mass Index (BMI), Randomized Controlled Trials, and Clinical Trial.” Up to the end of March 2020, two authors independently screened the papers, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies using Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. RESULTS: Out of 12,944 initial studies, 14 met the inclusion criteria after screening the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the papers. The participants in these studies were aged between 6 and 18 years, and 13 studies included participants from both sexes. Moreover, eight of them were performed as a controlled clinical trial. The overall estimate of the difference showed that the interventions improved weight loss which is a statistically significant finding. The participants in the intervention group had a weight loss of 1.02 kg compared to the control group at a 95% confidence interval (− 4.794–0.222). CONCLUSION: Published longitudinal data indicated that physical activity declines over the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Using the results of the study, policy-makers can design educational interventions using educational models and patterns. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020173869