Exercise trials reported lower internet-addiction symptom scores
A meta-analysis favored physical and mental exercise over control conditions, but its rankings and modeled exercise dose need cautious interpretation.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The pooled trials found lower internet-addiction symptom scores with physical and mental exercise than with control conditions. Mindfulness had the largest reported effect. The abstract does not establish whether this reflects direct comparisons between approaches, and its modeled exercise-dose relationship does not justify a personal exercise target.
This abstract-based account lacks intervention durations, control details and descriptions of symptom scales. The abstract also omits uncertainty around the ranking and modeled dose estimate, limiting interpretation of these comparisons.
What researchers found
Internet-addiction symptom scores
Physical and mental exercise versus control groups; negative values mean lower symptom scores with exercise. Assessment timing was not reported.
Understanding the scale
The standardized estimate puts symptom-score differences on a shared statistical scale. It cannot be read as a percentage reduction in addiction, time spent online or the number of participants who recovered.
Interpreting the dose model
The analysis suggested a curved relationship between exercise amount and symptom outcomes. That model describes the included evidence; without detailed methods and uncertainty, its apparent optimum cannot be treated as a validated prescription.
The original publication
The intervention effect of physical and mental exercise on young adults internet addiction disorder: a systematic review and Bayesian model analysis.
Jia S, Wang H, Chu D et al.
Front Public Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41112661
- Record checked
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