The Impact of Typical School Provision of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sports on Adolescent Physical Activity Behaviors: A Systematic Literature Review

The Impact of Different Levels of Typical School Provision of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sports on Adolescent Physical Activity Behaviors, Health and Wellbeing

“…Girls in schools characterized as having higher levels of typical school provision of physical education, physical activity and sports were found to have higher levels of physical activity participation in comparison to schools with lower levels of provision. This finding is consistent with research that considers the impact of whole-school, systems-based approaches to promoting physical activity, i.e., mobilizes the combined potential impact that typical school provision of physical education, physical activity and sports may have on physical activity participation in girls [20,24,[103][104][105][106][107]. Research pertaining to the impact of individual components of typical school provision of physical education, physical activity and sports, such as participation in physical education class versus nonparticipation [103,104], >60 min of recess time [103], a policy mandating at least 30 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school time [107], active transport to school [105] and >90 min of physical education class time [106] are all associated with greater physical activity participation in girls, reduced sedentary behavior and a higher proportion of girls meeting the physical activity recommendations of at least an average of sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily across the week [7].…”

“…It must be noted that the health costs associated with physical inactivity are in excess of USD 27.4 billion annually [10]. Additionally, a mere 20% of adolescents engage in physical activity and sports outside of school hours, limiting their development of lifelong physical activity skills [20,172,173] (p. 2). Given that physical activity habits established during adolescence are found to track into adulthood [41], schools are therefore considered primary vehicles for achieving pertinent change in the health status of adolescents and alleviate the economic burden of disease.…”

“…The literature indicates that reciprocated best friends and peers to engage in emotional communication with are strongly linked with reduced somatic health complaints in girls [177]. Given the low participation rates in school physical education, physical activity and sports, especially among girls [20,178], it is considered that girls may perceive that there are limited opportunities for emotional communication within these contexts. Therefore, girls may prioritize seeking opportunities to foster peer interactions and social relationships elsewhere, which could explain the aforementioned variance.…”

“…In the context of the current study, "typical" "refers to what occurs in the majority of schools with no significant departure from the norm" [20] (p. 3) and reflects the response of schools to the national curriculum and relevant recommendations regarding adolescent physical activity and health. Provision is an all-encompassing term that underlies systems and structures involved in providing school physical education and opportunities for physical activity and sports.…”

“…Considering the aforementioned prevalence of disease, further strategies need to be developed to measure the impact of alternative sources of physical activity as a supplement to physical activity outside of school. A paucity of evidence exists that examines the multicomponent impact of typical school provision of physical education, physical activity and sports as a source of immediate and accessible support to enhance adolescent health and wellbeing indicators [20,54].…”