Effects of the active lesson program on academic achievement and physical activity: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the quality of classroom-based physical activity intervention that integrated academic contents (active lesson program: ALP), and to update the effectiveness of the interventions on physical activity, health, or educational outcomes.

Methods: Studies, which published from April 2015 to September 2018, were identified in five electronic databases (ERIC, PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE). Inclusion criteria were: 1) classroom lesson containing both physical activity and educational contents; 2) physical activity, physical constitution, fitness components, academic achievements, or facilitators-of-learning were evaluated as outcome values; 3) intervention studies featuring randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental design, or pre-post study design; 4) school-aged children (5–18 years) for study participant; 5) at least one week for the intervention period. Physical activity breaks without educational content, the ALP as part of complex interventions, and studies investigating special populations (such as disabled or obese children) were excluded. Risk of bias was assessed using the the Cochrane Collaboration "risk of bias" assessment tool.

Results: All ten studies found increased physical activity following the ALP. Compared with inactive teaching, two studies showed positive effects of the ALP on standardized academic performance test. Four studies found the effectiveness of the ALP on on-task behavior, which is one of the facilitators-of-learning outcomes. Risk of bias was totally high.

Conclusions: Quality of study design has been improving, but the risk of bias is high. Overall, the ALP can increase physical activity level without sacrificing academic performance, but further research is needed to refer to the effectiveness on the health outcome.