Purpose: We aimed to determine gender differences in students’ moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels measured in primary school by accelerometry. Methods: Our systematic search (PROSPERO: CRD42023422799) was developed using four electronic databases (from January 2013 to December 22, 2023). Our meta-analysis was conducted based on a random-effects model. Results: The search yielded 6255 manuscripts. Only 24 manuscripts were included in the systematic review, reporting 7550 participants. Finally, 19 manuscripts were meta-analyzed. Our analyses indicated that the mean percentages (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.24 to 0.40, p < .001) of MVPA in primary school physical education (PE) lessons were 28.75 ± 13.75 for boys and 25.99 ± 12.35 for girls. In addition, the mean minutes (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.27, p < .001) were 13.75 ± 9.91 for boys and 12.15 ± 8.88 for girls. Students failed to meet the 50% recommendation of MVPA lesson time. Conclusion: Boys spend significantly more time in MVPA than girls during PE lessons in primary school. The findings show the need for methodological changes in PE to reduce this gender gap.
Gender Differences in Students’ Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity Levels During Primary School Physical Education Lessons: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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PROFITH “PROmoting FITness and Health Through Physical Activity” Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Vidal-Conti https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4782-2178
Muntaner-Mas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4083-5948
Arenas (d.arenas@uib.cat) is corresponding author, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6896-037X
Supplementary Materials
- Supplementary Figure S1 (PDF 264 KB)
- Supplementary Figure S2 (PDF 337 KB)
- Supplementary Figure S3 (PDF 262 KB)
- Supplementary Figure S4 (PDF 169 KB)
- Supplementary Table S1 (PDF 326 KB)
- Supplementary Table S2 (PDF 327 KB)
- Supplementary Table S3 (PDF 327 KB)
- Supplementary Table S4 (PDF 327 KB)
- Supplementary Table S5 (PDF 210 KB)
- Supplementary Table S6 (PDF 292 KB)
- Supplementary Table S7 (PDF 216 KB)
- Supplementary Table S8 (PDF 219 KB)
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