The effectiveness of orienteering exercise on improving physical fitness and cognitive functions in non-athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives Orienteering exercise combines physical and cognitive function training, but its interventional effects remain unclear. Hence, in this study, we examined the effectiveness of orienteering exercise interventions in improving physical fitness and cognitive functions by a systematic review, meta-analyses, subgroup analyses, and meta-regression.Study design Systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods Nine electronic databases were searched in September 2024; after evaluation, 1360 studies were initially selected, but only ten studies were ultimately included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Random-effect models were used for all analyses.Results The meta-analytical results revealed significant large effects of orienteering exercise interventions on physical fitness and memory, and a medium effect on spatial skills in all included studies. Results of the moderator analysis showed a significant difference in attention improvement across all moderators, including the study design, population, teaching experiments, and various orientation types. Regarding orientation types of interventions, the introductory teaching strategy showed a significantly better effect on physical fitness, and memory training strategies showed a significantly better effect on attention.Conclusions The effects of orienteering exercise interventions on improving physical fitness and cognitive functions are promising. Orienteering exercise interventions are recommended for all age groups across various settings, including in schools for children and adolescents and in community settings for older adults. Additionally, a well-designed and identified intervention course could be a valuable resource for health-promotion scholars and policymakers.