Exercise review finds selective cognitive gains in youth with excess weight
Trials favored exercise for executive function, but overall attention and memory results were not statistically significant.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Exercise improved executive function in the pooled trials, but overall effects on attention and memory were not statistically significant. Some subgroup analyses were favorable. Those patterns do not establish an optimal exercise schedule or show that any particular frequency, intensity or session length produces better results than another.
This abstract-based summary cannot assess trial comparators or cognitive test details. The authors' favorable attention conclusion needs caution because the overall attention analysis was not statistically significant.
What researchers found
Executive function
Executive function favored exercise by 0.39 standard deviations, units based on score spread within studies rather than raw test points. Trial comparators and assessment timing were unreported.
Reading the main result
The estimate combines executive-function tests on a shared scale. A favorable average result does not show how much a particular test score changed or whether everyday functioning improved.
Interpreting the subgroups
The authors split studies by exercise frequency, intensity and duration. Favorable findings within selected groups can coexist with an uncertain overall result and do not establish that those groups outperform other exercise schedules.
The original publication
Effects of exercise on cognitive function in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Li S, Wu M, Hu J et al.
Front Public Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41458405
- Record checked
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