Zhongguo quanke yixue (Oct 2024)
Meta-analysis of the Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Executive Function in Overweight and Obese Children
Abstract
Background Studies have confirmed that executive function in overweight and obese children is closely related to obesity and may have a bidirectional association. Aerobic exercise, as an effective intervention, can effectively promote their brain development and cognitive function, especially executive function, but the quantitative relationship of the improvement effect still needs to be further explored. Objective To systematically evaluate the intervention effect of aerobic exercise on executive function-related indexes in overweight and obese children. Methods Randomized controlled trials of aerobic exercise interventions for executive function in overweight and obese children were searched in CNKI, Wanfang Data, CBM, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, and the timeframe for searching was from the establishment of each database to July 2023. The quality of the included literature was assessed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, and Meta-analysis of outcome indicators was performed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 15.0 software. Results Nine randomized controlled trials, including 940 overweight and obese children, were finally included. The results of Meta-analysis showed that a single session of aerobic exercise intervention was effective in improving the executive function of overweight and obese children (WMD=-6.98, 95%CI=-11.89 to -2.07, P=0.005). Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in the improvement of any of the executive function subcomponents in overweight and obese children with a single intervention duration of less than 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (WMD=-0.84, 95%CI=-9.37 to 7.68, P=0.85) ; aerobic exercise with a single intervention duration longer than 30 minutes improved inhibitory function in overweight and obese children (WMD=-10.50, 95%CI=-19.15 to -1.85, P=0.02). When a long-term exercise intervention was carried out (the intervention period was 8 weeks), in contrast to the control group, the aerobic exercise improved interference control in overweight and obese children (WMD=-0.16, 95%CI=-0.18 to -0.14, P<0.000 01), on planning (WMD=4.20, 95%CI=-8.34 to 16.73, P=0.51), attention (WMD=0.41, 95%CI=-12.08 to 12.91, P=0.95), synchronization (WMD=3.93, 95%CI=-8.22 to 16.08, P=0.53), and continuity (WMD=2.48, 95%CI=-9.18 to 14.14, P=0.68) were not significantly improved. Conclusion Aerobic exercise for a single long period of time had a selective positive effect on executive function subcomponents in overweight and obese children, and aerobic exercise for a long period of time with a fixed frequency and duration improved interference control in overweight and obese children, but did not produce an improvement in planning, attention, synchronization, or continuity.
Keywords
