Effects of exercise on cognitive function in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

作者：Li Shi, Margaret Wu, Jie Hu, Jingfeng Chen, Bichen Xiong, Deyu Jiao, Pengbo Ren, Hongwei Liu, Haixia Fan · 发表于：Frontiers in Public Health · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fpubh.2025.1694170 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet、Children's Physical and Motor Development、Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Background Exercise is a non-pharmacological strategy for enhancing cognitive function among various populations. The aim of our systematic review was to synthesise evidence of the effects of exercise on cognitive function in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity. Methods A comprehensive search of four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE was conducted from each database inception through 1 April, 2025. This review investigates the impact of exercise intervention on the cognitive function of children and adolescents with overweight or obesity through randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2, and the treatment effects were analyzed through random-effects or fixed-effects models, with Hedges’ g serving as the metric for effect size estimation. I 2 statistics assessed heterogeneity, and leave-one-out analysis verified result stability. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on the FITT principle, including exercise frequency, intensity, and time. Results The meta-analysis of 15 RCTs, including 1,210 children and adolescents with overweight or obesity revealed that exercise significantly improved executive function ( g = 0.39, 95% CI:0.12 to 0.66, p = 0.0043). No significant effects were observed for other aspects of attention and memory ( p >0.05). Subgroup analysis identified that exercise with a frequency of >3 sessions per week (g = 0.39, p = 0.0257), ...