Effects of Recreational Soccer on Anthropometric Measures, Metabolic Markers, Physical Fitness, and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents with Overweight/Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: This systematic review examined the effects of recreational soccer (RS) on anthropometric, metabolic, physical fitness, and mental health outcomes in youth with overweight/obesity. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020, this review searched seven databases, assessed quality with Cochrane RoB 2 and PEDro, performed meta-analysis in RevMan 5.4, used random-effects meta-analysis, and graded evidence certainty with GRADE. Results: Meta-analysis showed that RS was associated with significant reductions in BMI z -score [standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.93 to −0.08, p = 0.02; k = 4, n = 147], waist circumference (WC) [mean difference (MD) = −8.60 cm, 95% CI: −11.98 to −5.23, p < 0.00001; k = 6, n = 176], systolic blood pressure (SBP) (MD = −4.21 mmHg, 95% CI: −7.92 to −0.51, p = 0.03; k = 7, n = 216), insulin (SMD = −0.40, 95% CI: −0.77 to −0.04, p = 0.03; k = 3, n = 119), total cholesterol (MD = −19.90 mg/dL, 95% CI: −30.33 to −9.47, p = 0.0002; k = 3, n = 119), high-density lipoprotein (MD = 8.36 mg/dL,95% CI: 4.80–11.91, p < 0.00001; k = 4, n = 132), low-density lipoprotein (MD = −14.13 mg/dL, 95% CI: −24.44 to −3.81, p = 0.007; k = 4, n = 119), and flexibility (sit and reach) (MD = 1.90 cm, 95% CI: 0.66–3.13, p = 0.003; k = 3, n = 94). Conclusions: Regular RS participation improves anthropometric and cardiometabolic outcomes in children and adolescents with overweight/obesity, with robust evidence for reductions in WC and SBP. Findings for other outcomes are preliminary due to the limited number of studies and require further confirmation.