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Literature Review
In addressing its charge, the committee identified more than 1,000 
articles and reports from the peer-reviewed published literature and from 
organizations relevant to physical education, physical activity, and health. 
The focus of the literature review was on gathering available evidence on 
(1) the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short- 
and long-term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and 
development of children and adolescents and (2) potential physical activity 
and physical education policies and programs. 
The literature search strategy generated search terms based on the 
committee’s conceptual framework. The initial search strategy paired 
the terms physical education and physical activity with terms related to 
themes, including academic achievement, brain development, classrooms, 
disparities, fitness, intra- and extramural sports, joint-use agreements, 
mental health, out-of-school time, policy, psychosocial health, recess, sed-
entary activity, school financing, somatic growth, transport, and weight. 
Searches were typically limited to U.S. populations and to children and ado-
lescents, with the exception of studies examining the long-term and adult 
health benefits of childhood activity. See Appendix B and the references in 
Chapters 2 through 7 for more details on the methodology used and the 
evidence identified.