Physical Literacy, Physical Activity, and Health: A Citation Content Analysis and Narrative Review

Physical literacy has received increased research attention over the last decade focusing on the unification of the definition, measurement, and application, including in school and health-based contexts. In 2019, Cairney et al. released a model positioning physical literacy holistically as a primary determinant of health and disease, mediated by physical activity (PA), the physiological and psychological adaptations associated with PA, and the individual and social/environmental/contextual factors or conditions that impact PA-related behaviour, which had a significant impact on physical literacy-related literature. To assess the impact of the model on the extant literature, and better understand the relationship between physical literacy, PA and health as proposed by Cairney et al., we conducted a citation content analysis and narrative review. 956 citations were identified citing the model proposed by Cairney et al. Of these, 16 used the model to construct a theoretical framework and were included in the extended analysis. Thirteen studies were observational, and participants were all children or young people with a total age range 4-20 years. Results demonstrate that physical literacy is related to health-related fitness variables including aerobic fitness, body composition, flexibility, and muscular strength and power; total PA and MVPA; and health literacy, and wellbeing, supporting the model proposed by Cairney et al. However, gaps remain in understanding critical components of the model (e.g., the proposed mediation pathways), and in clarifying the nature of the relationships in a variety of populations (e.g., clinical populations) and across the lifespan. A pragmatic approach to addressing these gaps is recommended.