Association of Physical Education With Improvement of Health-Related Physical Fitness Outcomes and Fundamental Motor Skills Among Youths

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Whether quality-or quantity-based physical education (PE) interventions are associated with improvement of health-related physical fitness outcomes and fundamental motor skills (FMSs) in children and adolescents is unknown. OBJECTIVE To examine the association of interventions aimed at optimizing PE in terms of quality (teaching strategies or fitness infusion) or quantity (lessons per week) with health-related physical fitness and FMSs in children and adolescents. DATA SOURCES For this systematic review and meta-analysis, studies were identified through a systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry, and SPORTDiscus databases (from inception to October 10, 2019) with the keywords physical education OR PE OR P.E. AND fitness AND motor ability OR skills. Manual examination of references in selected articles was also performed. STUDY SELECTION Studies that assessed the association of quality-or quantity-based PE interventions with improvement in physical fitness and/or FMSs in youths (aged 3-18 years) were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Data were processed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. Random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled effect size (Hedges g). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Health-related physical fitness outcomes and FMSs. RESULTS Fifty-six trials composed of 48 185 youths (48% girls) were included in the meta-analysis. Quality-based PE interventions were associated with small increases in health-related physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness [Hedges g = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.16-0.32] and muscular strength [Hedges g = 0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.29]) and FMSs (Hedges g = 0.38; 95% CI, 0.27-0.49). Subgroup analyses found stronger associations for quality-based PE interventions on body mass index (Hedges g = −0.18; 95% CI, −0.26 to −0.09), body fat (Hedges g = −0.28; 95% CI, −0.37 to −0.18), cardiorespiratory fitness (Hedges g = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.23-0.39), and muscular strength (Hedges g = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.18-0.39). Quantity-based PE interventions were associated with small increases in only cardiorespiratory fitness (Hedges g = 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30-0.55), muscular strength (Hedges g = 0.20; 95% CI, 0.08-0.31), and speed agility (Hedges g = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.07-0.51). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThe findings suggest that quality-based PE interventions are associated with small increases in both student health-related physical fitness components and FMSs regardless of frequency or duration of PE lessons. Because PE aims to improve more than health, high levels of active learning time may need to be balanced with opportunities for instruction, feedback, and reflection.

Physical Fitness and Motor Competence in Upper Austrian Elementary School Children—Study Protocol and Preliminary Findings of a State-Wide Fitness Testing Program

“…Adequate information on current abilities, therefore, is necessary in order to provide movement experiences that enhance motor competence and physical fitness. Accordingly, available research has shown that a targeted approach during PE, which ensures sufficient intensity, improves cardiorespiratory fitness in children even in the absence of additional time dedicated toward PE (García-Hermoso et al, 2020 ; Peralta et al, 2020 ). Further, PE lessons with fitness infusion have been shown to increase active learning time in students and, therefore, potentially increase total PA (Lonsdale et al, 2013 ).…”

“…In order to reach a large number of children, independent of their socio-economic background, schools are a prime setting for the promotion of PA and health in children and adolescents (Peralta et al, 2020 ). There is also evidence on beneficial effects of structured school-based interventions on physical fitness and motor competence (García-Hermoso et al, 2020 ).…”

Associations among psychological satisfaction in physical education, sports practice, and health indicators with physical activity

“…Physical education (PE) classes are among the main intervention strategies for improving levels of muscular, cardiorespiratory fitness, and the increasing health of adolescents. For these benefits, classes should be planned and structured, considering the moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as an objective [ [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] ].…”

Efectos agudos de distintas estrategias de calentamiento sobre el rendimiento físico y las habilidades motrices en escolares (Acute effects of different warm-up strategies on physical performance and motor skills in schoolchildren)

“…Recientes propuestas señalan que los diferentes especialistas que interactúan en la planificación de intervenciones, no solo deben considerar la cantidad de actividad física, si no que deben tener preocupación por la calidad de ellas (Davids et al, 2016;Rudd et al, 2020), de tal manera que se logre una alfabetización física, dotando de competencias físicas, afectivas y cognitivas que permitan a los niños y adolescentes adherirse a un estilo de vida activo (Cornish et al, 2020;Rudd et al, 2020). En este contexto, la educación física desempeña un rol determinante al contribuir con experiencias motrices que favorecen el rendimiento motor durante toda la etapa escolar (García-Hermoso et al, 2020) y adicionalmente, intervenciones basadas en habilidades motoras fundamentales, puede aumentar los niveles de actividad física y disminuir la conducta sedentaria de niños (Engel et al, 2018). Lamentablemente las clases de educación física muestran una baja adherencia y tiempo de compromiso motor tanto en niños como adolescentes (Hollis et al, 2017;Reyes et al, 2020), lo que podría estar asociado a una baja motivación o baja percepción de autoeficacia (Arribas-Galarraga et al, 2020;Fraile et al, 2019;García et al, 2020;Wing et al, 2016).…”

“…En este contexto, la educación física desempeña un rol determinante al contribuir con experiencias motrices que favorecen el rendimiento motor durante toda la etapa escolar (García-Hermoso et al, 2020) y adicionalmente, intervenciones basadas en habilidades motoras fundamentales, puede aumentar los niveles de actividad física y disminuir la conducta sedentaria de niños (Engel et al, 2018). Lamentablemente las clases de educación física muestran una baja adherencia y tiempo de compromiso motor tanto en niños como adolescentes (Hollis et al, 2017;Reyes et al, 2020), lo que podría estar asociado a una baja motivación o baja percepción de autoeficacia (Arribas-Galarraga et al, 2020;Fraile et al, 2019;García et al, 2020;Wing et al, 2016). Dado el contexto actual, en el que cada vez existen menos oportunidades de acceder a un ambiente amigable que contribuya al desarrollo de habilidades motrices (Davids et al, 2016), es necesario que los profesores de educación física, diseñen sesiones que contribuyan a generar respuestas afectivas que motiven la participación y la percepción de autoeficacia con el fin de hacer de sus sesiones más efectivas (Baños et al, 2020;Delextrat et al, 2020;Lakicevic et al, 2020).…”