ReviewSports (Basel, Switzerland)2026
Exercise Interventions and Attentional Performance in Children and Adolescents: Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPhysical exercise has been increasingly recognized as a potential strategy to enhance cognitive development during childhood and adolescence. Among cognitive functions, attention plays a critical role in academic performance, behavioral regulation, and information processing. However, evidence regarding the specific effects of physical exercise on attentional performance in youth remains heterogeneous.
objectiveThis systematic review aimed to examine the effects of physical exercise interventions on attentional performance in children and adolescents.
methodsA systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL databases. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of physical exercise interventions on attentional outcomes in participants aged 8 to 17 years were included. Study selection followed PRISMA guidelines. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed qualitatively.
resultsThe included studies consistently reported improvements in attentional performance following physical exercise interventions. Positive effects were observed across several attentional domains, including concentration, selective attention, sustained attention, processing speed, and response accuracy. Both acute and chronic exercise programs demonstrated cognitive benefits, although longer interventions appeared to produce more stable improvements. Coordinative and cognitively demanding exercise modalities tended to generate greater attentional gains compared with traditional physical activity programs.
conclusionsPhysical exercise appears to be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for enhancing attentional performance in children and adolescents. Structured and cognitively engaging exercise programs may provide additional benefits for attentional development. Further research is needed to determine optimal exercise characteristics and to clarify the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying exercise-related attentional improvements.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.