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Open research questions in Physical Activity and Health

1,999 gap statements mined from Physical Activity and Health papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 9,670 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Physical Activity and Health? See the ranked Medicine journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • There is a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of Medium-Intensity Training in promoting functional independence and cognitive function in older adults. Prior studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the effects of physical exercise on cognitive function.

    The role of medium-intensity training in promoting functional independence and cognitive function in older adults: a randomized controlled trial · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should explore sex- and age-specific digital literacy affecting access to digital platforms, as well as sociocultural factors influencing physical activity and dietary adherence, which may impact the effectiveness and sustainability of such interventions.

    Tailored video-based lifestyle intervention for overweight or obese adults in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies the challenge of measuring sedentary behavior accurately, citing the need for validated subjective inventories. It also highlights the challenge of addressing sedentary behavior, particularly in relation to demographic factors and chronotype. The paper notes the challenge of developing targeted and personalized interventions to address sedentary behavior.

    Determinants and health implications of sitting behavior: the roles of age, gender, and chronotype · 2026 · DOI

  • The study used self-reported GPAQ data, which may be subject to recall and social bias. The study had a limited sample size of 256 students. The study only investigated physical activity levels among preventive medicine students at Tra Vinh University, Vietnam, and may not be generalizable to other populations.

    Physical activity levels and associated factors among preventive medicine students at Tra Vinh University, Vietnam: a cross-sectional GPAQ survey · 2026 · DOI

  • Because of the popularity of remote work, strategies to promote PA during remote workdays, in addition to commonly recommended strategies to reduce sitting, are warranted.

    Device-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior during office versus remote workdays among hybrid workers · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could examine the psychometric properties of these instruments in a more diverse sample of older adults with varying levels of digital literacy, chronic conditions, and functional limitations, to ensure they perform adequately across the full spectrum of physical activity engagement and health status.

    Development and Validation of a Perception, Attitude, and Practice of Physical Activity to Support Personalized Physical Activity Promotion Among U.S. Older Adults · 2026 · DOI

  • The results support the value of describing exercise modality, reported training time, and supervision context alongside total PA volume, while future studies should examine the health and functional implications of these patterns.

    Physical activity and structured exercise patterns in perimenopausal women: a cross-sectional study · 2026 · DOI

  • Positive within-section correlation could lead to underestimated standard errors, overly narrow confidence intervals and overly small p values; the extent of this uncertainty could not be assessed. The study could not assess whether associations varied with engagement or algorithm performance, or distinguish the contribution of individual support functions.

    Intelligent-assistant support versus usual self-scheduling for extracurricular physical activity among university students: a comparative evaluation · 2026 · DOI

  • Percentage of skeletal muscle mass was not associated with total IPAQ score and showed only a nominal association with IPAQ physical activity category that did not survive correction for multiple testing; this divergence warrants further investigation.

    Skeletal Muscle Mass and Explosive Strength in Young, Healthy Adults: Associations with Gait Biomechanics, Speed and Sedentary Behavior—A Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Although the sensitivity analyses suggested that the core predictive structure was relatively robust, its generalizability to other survey years, regions, and populations remains to be externally validated.

    Machine learning prediction of self-rated health among adults under different physical exercise participation statuses · 2026 · DOI

  • First, all variables were measured at one time point, so temporal precedence and causal relationships among exercise motivation, general self-efficacy, perceived physical activity triggers, and the ZTEx-IP could not be established. Second, the Adult Sedentary Behavior Reduction Intention Questionnaire has not been validated as a ZTEx-specific intention measure.

    Psychosocial Correlates of Sedentary Behavior Reduction Readiness Relevant to Zero-Time Exercise Among Chinese Adults in Sedentary Occupations: Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Fourth, included studies varied widely in intervention characteristics and outcome measurement instruments, which may contribute to the observed heterogeneity and limit direct comparison across trials. Accordingly, caution is warranted when translating these pooled findings into specific intervention prescriptions, as different dosing regimens and implementation contexts may yield differential magnitudes of benefit.

    Effects of physical activity intervention on active ageing and physical function among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • China has a strong policy foundation for linking national fitness and health, yet implementation remains constrained by institutional fragmentation, uneven local capacity, workforce and credentialing gaps, uncertain financing, and incomplete information integration.

    Promoting health through sports–medicine integration in China: a narrative and conceptual review of challenges, international · 2026 · DOI

  • Capillary BG was used as a pragmatic acute measure, but interpretation was limited by the lack of standardization of presession meal timing and composition.

    Physiological Responses, Exercise Intensity, and Enjoyment During Ring Fit Adventure in Adults With Chronic Diseases: Single-Arm, Pre-Post Experimental Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Further high-quality research is warranted to clarify optimal training regimens and standardized measurement criteria for exercise-induced BDNF modulation in this specific population.

    Structured effects of exercise on circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • While previous explanatory studies have linked numerous variables to PA behavior, their predictive value often remains unknown without evaluation on unseen test data.

    Predictors of Extreme Behaviors of Physical Activity Measured With Accelerometer—A Predictive Machine Learning Approach · 2026 · DOI

  • Future individually randomized trials should pre-register one clearly defined primary EF score per domain; report randomization and concealment, attrition, adherence, analyzed group sizes, and both pre/post and change-score dispersion; and provide correlations needed for multi-outcome synthesis. Shared-control multiarm studies should identify arm overlap explicitly.

    Effects of exercise interventions on executive function in adolescents: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials · 2026 · DOI

  • This provides a novel contribution to dissemination and implementation research, as engagement with digital resources at scale is rarely reported in school-based physical activity interventions. By examining both overall and page-level engagement, the study demonstrates that simple aggregate web metrics are insufficient to characterize user interaction.

    Secondary School Staff Engagement With a School-Based Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Initiative Website: Implementation Trial During National Scale-Up · 2026 · DOI

  • The evidence on the prospective association between PA and dementia has mostly been derived from the general population, and the results remain inconclusive.

    Association between physical activity and incident dementia among individuals with hypertension · 2026 · DOI

  • Very-low-certainty evidence suggested possible reductions in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, resting diastolic blood pressure, and HRV-LF/HF; evidence for the remaining outcomes was inconclusive.

    The effects of physical activity interventions on stress-related psychological and physiological outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • The evidence for effects on physical function (TUGT, 5 × STS, handgrip strength, 6MWT) and on cardiometabolic markers (triglycerides, blood pressure) remains inconclusive, with prediction intervals crossing the null for the most heterogeneous outcomes.

    Home-based exercise in postmenopausal and older women: effects on body composition, physical function, cardiometabolic health, and quality of life—a systematic review and meta-analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • Sit‐to‐stand (STS) power is a practical field‐based indicator of lower‐limb muscle power and functional performance across adulthood, yet reference values have been derived mainly from European cohorts, and allometric STS power remains scarcely described in Latin America.

    Sit‐to‐Stand Power Across Adulthood in Three Latin American Countries: Sex‐Specific Relative and Allometric Reference Values From a Multicenter Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Accordingly, the estimated vertex and the ascending portion of the fitted quadratic curve should be interpreted with caution, as they are based on relatively sparse data at the highest PA levels…

    Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Neurobehavioural Function at Age 7 Years: The Italian PHIME-NAC-II Cohort · 2026 · DOI

  • The sample size of the present study is relatively limited - The study used a cross-sectional design - The inherent challenges of recruiting a large cohort of children and adolescents with VI limited the sample…

    Associations between parental support and physical activity in children and adolescents with visual impairments: a mediating analysis of exercise self-efficacy · 2026 · DOI

  • Investigating the factors contributing to the decline in MVPA with age - Examining the effectiveness of interventions to increase PA in children and adolescents with VI - Studying the relationship between PS, ESE, and MVPA in other populations…

    Associations between parental support and physical activity in children and adolescents with visual impairments: a mediating analysis of exercise self-efficacy · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Physical Activity and Health

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of Medium-Intensity Training in promoting functional independence and cognitive function in older adults (“The role of medium-intensity training in promoting functional independence and…”, 2026); (2) Because of the popularity of remote work, strategies to promote PA during remote workdays, in addition to commonly recommended strategies to reduce sitting, are warranted (“Device-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior during office versus…”, 2026); (3) The results support the value of describing exercise modality, reported training time, and supervision context alongside total PA volume, while future studies should examine the health and functional implications of these patterns (“Physical activity and structured exercise patterns in perimenopausal women: a…”, 2026); (4) Although the sensitivity analyses suggested that the core predictive structure was relatively robust, its generalizability to other survey years, regions, and populations remains to be externally validated (“Machine learning prediction of self-rated health among adults under different…”, 2026); (5) Capillary BG was used as a pragmatic acute measure, but interpretation was limited by the lack of standardization of presession meal timing and composition (“Physiological Responses, Exercise Intensity, and Enjoyment During Ring Fit…”, 2026). 1,999 gap statements have been mined from Physical Activity and Health papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 9,670 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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