A 20-year Report on Physical Activity and Obesity among Preschool Children in Western Countries and China

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Childhood obesity is a global public health issue. Physical activity (PA) plays an important role inthe prevention of becoming obese and reducing the risk of obesity. This study aims to explore thetrends of PA and its effects on obesity among preschool children (aged 3–7 years) in different culturalcontexts (i.e., Western countries and China). Five databases (English database [PubMed] and fourChinese journal databases [CBM, CNKI, CQVIP, and Wanfangdata]) were searched for studies publishedbetween 2002 and 2022. Five Chinese studies were included in the article. These studies demonstratedthat comprehensive intervention including PA can prevent and alleviate obesity in preschool children.Eleven English studies met the inclusion criteria, of which seven indicated that the intervention groupsreduce obesity among preschool children, while four showed no significant difference. The findingssuggest that PA has a discernible impact on obesity in preschool children, highlighting the need forfuture studies to focus on this specific population to prevent their health better.