Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
Classroom movement breaks (CMBs) reduce school‐day sedentary time. This umbrella review synthesized evidence on health and academic benefits of CMBs among school‐aged children and explored outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES).
Methods
A systematic search of systematic reviews and meta‐analyses up to April 2024 was conducted in five databases. Reviews examining CMBs' impacts on health and/or academic outcomes were included. Study quality was assessed using AMSTAR2.
Findings
Sixteen reviews examined PA (physical activity;
n
= 12), classroom behaviors (
n
= 5), academics (
n
= 9, 4‐overall and 6‐domain‐specific academics), cognition (
n
= 8), and health (
n
= 5). All PA‐outcome reviews reported benefits. Most reviews reported improved classroom behaviors (3/5), cognition (6/8), and overall academics (3/4). Findings were mixed for domain‐specific academics and inconclusive for health. Methodological quality of all reviews was rated as low/critically low. Few reviews assessed differences by race, ethnicity, or SES.
Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity
Although CMBs showed potential benefits, recommendations for school implementation should be made with caution. Equity impacts remain understudied.
Conclusions
CMBs may benefit students' activity, classroom behaviors, overall academics, and cognition, but evidence for subject‐specific academics and health remained mixed or inconclusive. Current findings should be interpreted cautiously. Future research should address low methodological quality, utilize long‐term designs, incorporate uniform CMBs interventions/outcome measures, and address equity gaps.