Background

Physical fitness is an important marker of current and future health status, yet the association between physical fitness and indicators of mental health in youth has not been systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed.

Objective

The aim of this work was to systematically review and meta-analyze the association between physical fitness components (i.e. cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, speed-agility, flexibility and fitness composite) and mental health indicators (i.e. psychological well-being and psychological ill-being) in preschoolers, children and adolescents.

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources

Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus from database inception to May 2020.

Eligibility Criteria

Studies (cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention designs) were included if they measured at least one physical fitness component and one mental health indicator in healthy youth (2–18 years).

Results

A total of 58 unique studies (52 cross-sectional, 4 longitudinal and 4 intervention studies) met all eligibility criteria and were included. There was a significant positive overall association between physical fitness and mental health in children and adolescents (pooled r = 0.206, p < 0.001). We found suggestive evidence of moderation by age group, fitness components and socioeconomic status (all p < 0.08). No relevant studies focusing on preschoolers were identified. Evidence based on longitudinal and intervention studies was limited.

Conclusion

We observed a small to medium sized positive association between physical fitness and overall mental health in youth. However, as the majority of studies were cross-sectional, additional longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to provide evidence of causation.

Trial Registration

PROSPERO registration number CRD42017080005.

中文翻译：

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更健康的身体中更健康的头脑：对青少年身体健康与心理健康之间关系的系统回顾和荟萃分析

背景

体能是当前和未来健康状况的重要标志，但尚未对青少年体能与心理健康指标之间的关联进行系统评价和荟萃分析。

客观的

这项工作的目的是系统地回顾和荟萃分析身体健康成分（即心肺健康、肌肉健康、速度-敏捷性、柔韧性和健康综合）与心理健康指标（即心理健康和心理疾病）之间的关联。存在）在学龄前儿童、儿童和青少年中。

设计

系统评价和荟萃分析。

数据源

从数据库开始到 2020 年 5 月，在 PubMed、Web of Science 和 Scopus 中进行了系统搜索。

资格标准

如果研究（横断面、纵向和干预设计）测量了健康青年（2-18 岁）的至少一项身体健康成分和一项心理健康指标，则纳入研究。

结果

共有 58 项独特的研究（52 项横断面研究、4 项纵向研究和 4 项干预研究）符合所有资格标准并被纳入。儿童和青少年的身体健康与心理健康之间存在显着的整体正相关关系（汇总r  = 0.206，p  < 0.001）。我们发现了年龄组、健身成分和社会经济地位适度的暗示性证据（所有p  < 0.08）。没有发现针对学龄前儿童的相关研究。基于纵向和干预研究的证据有限。

结论

我们观察到青少年身体健康与整体心理健康之间存在中小型正相关。然而，由于大多数研究是横断面的，因此需要额外的纵向和干预研究来提供因果关系的证据。

试用注册

PROSPERO 注册号 CRD42017080005。