[Physical activity and mental health in childhood and adolescence: a summary of the evidence from three national studies].

Higher physical activity levels were associated with better mental health in children and adolescents in Germany.

• Higher PA was associated with fewer psychological problems and higher health-related quality of life.
• The narrative overview synthesised three population-based studies run as module or follow-up studies to KiGGS: MoMo, BELLA/COPSY, and COMO.
• Samples were nationwide representative, covering ages 4 to 23 years, using validated instruments for PA and mental health.

Leisure-time sport, both inside and outside sports clubs, showed evidence of protective effects for mental health.

• The abstract reports protective effects particularly for leisure-time sport in clubs and outside clubs.
• Findings were reported by type of activity, age, sex and socioeconomic status.

Self-reported PA showed stronger associations with well-being than objectively (device-)measured PA.

• The abstract states self-reported PA had stronger associations with well-being than device-assessed PA.
• This indicates the measurement method influenced the strength of observed associations.

Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families were less physically active and had more mental health problems.

• This pattern was reported in the synthesis across the studies.
• The authors conclude low-threshold PA programmes that reach disadvantaged groups are needed to reduce health inequalities.

Social integration and sense of competence in sport were identified as further key psychosocial factors linked to PA and mental health.

• These factors were described as central psychosocial factors in the synthesis.
• No effect sizes are given in the abstract.

The paper concludes PA is an important resource for promoting youth mental health and that accessible programmes for disadvantaged groups are needed.

• Motivated by young people's increasing burden from global crises and a lack of integrated population-based evidence for Germany.
• The review is narrative, so findings are associations rather than quantified causal effects.