School-Based Family-Oriented Health Interventions to Promote Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to systematically review and analyse intervention programs in a school context centred on the family, focused on increasing youths' physical activity. DATA SOURCE: The research was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases. STUDY INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies were included if participants were children or adolescents, focusing on school-based intervention studies with parental involvement and physical activity, sedentary behaviour or physical fitness outcomes. DATA EXTRACTION: The search was performed according to the PRISMA protocol. A total of 416 articles were identified. After being considered for eligibility and duplicates, 22 studies were identified as relevant for inclusion. DATA SYNTHESIS: Sample and intervention characteristics, objective, the role of the family, outcomes measures, main findings regarding the outcomes and risk of bias. RESULTS: Ten studies reported improvements in physical activity, 6 in sedentary behaviour and 9 in the components of physical fitness and/or skills related to healthy behaviours and lifestyles. Most of the interventions adopted a multidisciplinary and multi-component approach. CONCLUSIONS: Most interventions employed a school’s multidisciplinary/multi-component approach to promoting physical activity, nutrition, and general education for healthier lifestyle behaviours. The impact of school-based interventions involving families on youth’s physical activity levels is still a relatively emerging theme. Further research is needed given the diversity of the intervention’s characteristics and the disparity in the results’ efficacy.