Table 1.

Characteristics of analyzed studies (N = 8).

Authors	Sample/Group/Age (Years)/Country	Exercise Protocol	Cognitive, Psychological and Behavior Measures	Main Outcomes
[39]	N = 65 EG1 = 21, EG2 = 22; C = 22 Age = 14–16 years Australian and New Zealand	Exercise Intervention EG1: WU + GMCardio + Stretch (work-to-rest 30 s:30 s) EG2: WU + CombCR + Stretch (work-to-rest 30 s:30 s) C: PE 3 sessions/week in 8 weeks	EF TMT—TA and TB PWB The Flourishing Scale PD Kessler Psychological Distress ScalePSC Physical Self-Description Questionnaire	EG1 EF (TMT B), d = 0.26, +11.45% EG2 EF (B-A), d = 0.28, + 17.73% | EF (TMT B), d = 0.39, +17.33% EG1 PWB, d = 0.19, +3.32% EG2 PWB, d = 0.21, +3.62% EG2 PSC, d = 0.50, +23.58%
[20]	N = 38 Age = 9–15 years Australia	EG1: intermittent fast running for shorts periods + long active recovery periods (30 min, HIIT, ≥85 HRmax) 3 sessions/week in 12 weeks	Psychological assessment Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale	EG1 PSYA total score, d = 0.28, +8.71%
[24]	N = 30 Age = 11–13 years UK	EG1: 3′ WU at 20 W + 8 × 1-min work intervals at 85% peak power interspersed with 75 s active recovery at 20 W + 2′ Stretch at 20 W	Affective responses FS Perceived enjoyment During exercise EES; post-exercise PACES Perceived exertion Pictorial Children’s OMNI scale Behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition BIS and BAS	BAS/BIS with enjoyment responses PACES high BAS d = 0.55, +2.67% PACES low BIS d = 0.22, +1.35% Self-efficacy with enjoyment responses PACES high efficacy d = 0.55, +2.70% PACES low efficacy d = 0.83, +4.11%
[41]	N = 54 Age = 12–15 years UK	HIIT protocol: 3′ WU at 20 W + 8 × 1-min intervals at 90% peak power + 75 s recovery at 20 W + 2′ Stretch CMIE protocol: continuous moderate intensity cycling at 90% GAS)	Exercise Enjoyment Modified PACES for adolescents (perceived enjoyment)	HIIT protocol in PACES score (boys, d = 0.73, + 32.43%; girls, d = 0.39, + 11.58%)
[22]	N = 184 EG1 = 90, C = 94 Age = 12–15 years Spain	2 sessions/week in 12-weeks intervention EG1: 4′WU + 16′ over 85% HRmax within PE classes (work-to-rest between 20 s:40 s to 40 s:20 s) C: static stretch within PE classes)	Memory Ad hoc test of 1 min (RIAS test) Selective attention and concentration Brickenkamp’s d2 Test Linguistic reasoning Ad hoc test (reading speed and semantic comprehension)	EG1 selective attention, d = 0.29, +10.68% EG1 concentration, d = 0.28, +8.00% EG1 linguistic reasoning, d = 0.25, +7.66%
[21]	N = 158 EG1 = 77, C = 81 Age = 12–16 years Spain	Exercise Intervention EG1: 4′WU + 16′ combination cardiorespiratory and coordinative exercise (4 sets, 4 exercises, work-to-rest 30 s:30 s) C: static stretching	Cognitive Performance Ad hoc test 1 min (memory test) Brickenkamp’s d2 test (selective attention and concentration capacity) Measurements on baseline, immediately post, and after 2, 3, 4, 24, 48 h)	EG1 (after training) selective attention, d = 0.81, + 60.73% EG1 (after training, and 2 h after training) Concentration, d = 0.71, + 61.10%, and d = 0.72, + 62.49%
[23]	N = 56 EG1 = 27, C = 29 Age = 8–12 years Japan	Exercise Intervention EG1: 10′WU + 8′aerobic and core exercise + 5′Stretch (work-to-rest 30 s:30 s) C: PE 3 sessions/week in 4 weeks	Executive Function DFS/DBS test ToH	EG1 DFS test total score d = 0.33, +10.56% EG1 DFS test MS d = 0.22, +6.36% EG1 DBS test total score d = 0.30, +14.14% EG1 DBS test MS d = 0.34, +13.37% EG1 ToH 3-disk d = 0.75, +78.56% C ToH 4-disk d = 0.84, +66.18%
[40]	N = 67 EG1 = 26, EG2 = 23, C = 18 Age = 12–14 years Spain	EG1: PE, 4 sessions (55 min)/week for 16 weeks EG2: PE + high intensity training, 4 sessions (55 min)/week for 16 weeks C: PE, 2 sessions (55 min)/week for 16 weeks	Cognitive Performance IGF-M (non-verbal and verbal abilities, abstract reasoning, spatial ability, verbal reasoning and numerical ability)	Non-verbal abilities EG1, d = 0.39, +5.29% EG2, d = 0.88, +47.70% Verbal abilities EG2, d = 1.58, +22.61% Abstract Reasoning EG1, d = 0.34, +5.37 EG2, d = 0.75, +44.50% Spatial Ability EG2, d = 37.19, + 22.85% Verbal Reasoning EG2, d = 1.00, + 15.71% Numerical Ability EG2, d = 1.20, +8.28%

EG: experimental group; C = control group; PE: physical education classes; GMCardio: gross motor cardiorespiratory exercises; CombCR: combination of cardiorespiratory and body weight resistance training exercises; WU: warm-up; EF: execution function; PWB: psychological well-being; PSC: physical self-concept; PD: psychological distress; TMT: Trail Making Test; TA: Trail A; TB: Trail B; DFS/DBS test: Digit Span Forward/Backward test; ToH: Tower of Hanoi; GAS: gas exchange threshold; HIIT: high-intensity interval training; PACES: Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale; FS: feeling scale; EES: during exercise 7-point exercise enjoyment scale; PACES: post-exercise physical activity enjoyment scale; BAS: Behavioral Activation Scale; BIS: Behavioral Inhibition Scale; RPE: rating of perceived exertion; PSYA: psychological assessment; IGF-M: medium version of the Spanish Overall and Factorial Intelligence Test; d = effect size of Cohen’s d.