The impact of early childhood education and care-based interventions on child physical activity, anthropometrics, fundamental movement skills, cognitive functioning, and social–emotional wellbeing: A systematic review and meta-analysis

SummaryThis review assessed the effectiveness of ECEC‐based interventions to improve child physical activity, and intervention impact on child weight‐based anthropometrics, fundamental movement skills (FMS), cognitive functioning, and social–emotional wellbeing. Adverse effects and costs were assessed. Finch et al's 2014 systematic review was updated. Electronic databases were searched 10 September 2014 to 27 October 2022. Included studies were randomized controlled trials of ECEC interventions targeting physical activity among children aged 0–6 years. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool v2. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were calculated for each outcome with meta‐analysis undertaken; otherwise, findings were described narratively. Fifty‐three studies were included. ECEC‐based interventions were found to significantly improve child physical activity (SMD 0.193, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.09 to 0.3; p < 0.001) and FMS (SMD 0.544, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.98; p = 0.015), compared to control. Small positive, but non‐significant, effects were found for weight‐based anthropometrics, cognitive functioning, and social–emotional wellbeing. Few studies reported adverse effects (n = 10), and no studies reported formal economic analyses. While ECEC‐based interventions can significantly improve child physical activity and FMS, further evidence of their impact on cognitive functioning, social–emotional wellbeing, and the cost‐effectiveness of such interventions is required to inform policy and practice.