Exploring the relationship between adolescent biological maturation, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

Across adolescence, there is a notable decline in physical activity in boys and girls. Maturational timing may be a risk factor for disengagement from physical activity and increased sedentary behaviours during adolescence. This systematic review aimed to summarise literature that examined the relationship between maturational timing, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adolescents. Six electronic databases were searched for articles that assessed biological maturation and physical activity (including sports participation and active transportation) or sedentary behaviours in adolescents. Two reviewers conducted title, abstract, and full-text screening, reference and forward citation searches. Included articles were evaluated for quality using a standardised tool. A narrative synthesis was used to analyse the findings due to the heterogeneity of the studies. Searches yielded 78 articles (64 unique studies) that met the inclusion criteria, representing 242,316 participants (153,179 unique). Studies ranged from 30.0% (low) to 91.7% (high) in quality. An inverse relationship between maturational timing and physical activity (in 50 and 60% of studies in boys and girls, respectively) and a positive relationship between maturational timing and sedentary behaviour (in 100% and 53% of studies in boys and girls, respectively) was most commonly reported. Evidence supporting an association between maturational timing, sports participation, and active transportation was inconsistent. While this review demonstrates some evidence for early maturational timing as a risk factor for disengagement from physical activity and increase in sedentary behaviours, the reviewed literature also demonstrates that this relationship is complex. Future research that tracks maturity-related variations in physical activity and sedentary behaviours over adolescence is warranted.