Do Intervention Studies to Promote Physical Activity and Reduce Sedentary Behavior in Children and Adolescents Take Sex/Gender Into Account? A Systematic Review

Physical inactivity is often reported in youth and differs among boys and girls. The aim of this study is to assess sex/gender considerations in intervention studies promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior in youth using a sex/gender checklist. A systematic search was conducted i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physical activity & health 2021-04, Vol.18 (4), p.461-468
Main Authors: Schlund, Annegret, Reimers, Anne K, Bucksch, Jens, Brindley, Catherina, Schulze, Carolin, Puil, Lorri, Coen, Stephanie E, Phillips, Susan P, Knapp, Guido, Demetriou, Yolanda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Child
Exercise
Exercise - physiology
Female
Gender
Humans
Intervention
Male
Research Design
Sedentary Behavior
Sex Factors
Systematic review
Teenagers
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Summary:Physical inactivity is often reported in youth and differs among boys and girls. The aim of this study is to assess sex/gender considerations in intervention studies promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior in youth using a sex/gender checklist. A systematic search was conducted in August 2018 to identify all relevant controlled trials. Studies screened must have reported a quantified measure of physical activity and/or sedentary behavior, and identified participants by sex/gender at baseline. For evaluation of the sex/gender consideration, the authors used a sex/gender checklist developed by expert consensus. The authors reviewed sex/gender considerations in all aspects of intervention development, implementation, and evaluation in 217 studies. Sex/gender aspects were only rudimentarily taken into account, most frequently during statistical analyses, such as stratification or interaction analysis. Sex/gender effects are not sufficiently reported. To develop guidelines that are more inclusive of all girls and boys, future interventions need to document sex/gender differences and similarities, and explore whether sex/gender influences different phases of intervention programs. The newly developed sex/gender checklist can hereby be used as a tool and guidance to adequately consider sex/gender in the several steps of intervention planning, implementation, and evaluation.
ISSN:1543-3080
1543-5474
DOI:10.1123/JPAH.2020-0666