The effects of physical activity interventions on the core symptoms of ADHD in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

While physical activity interventions have been shown to reduce symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, less is known about their effects in adults. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of both acute and chronic physical activity interventions in reducing the core symptoms of ADHD in adults and explored potential moderators, including outcome type (self-reports, neurocognitive tests, and motor activity), and activity type (cardio and mind-body exercises). A comprehensive database search identified 13 eligible studies, yielding 98 effect sizes from 312 participants aged 18–54. A three-level meta-analysis was conducted to account for nested data structure, and considerable heterogeneity was observed, with both within- and between-study variance. Results indicated that acute interventions produced a small but significant reduction in ADHD symptoms ( g = -0.191), whereas chronic interventions did not reach significance. No significant moderation effects were found for outcome type or activity type. Subgroup analyses in the acute dataset showed significant symptom reduction for neurocognitive tests and motor activity, as well as for cardio exercises. In the chronic dataset, total intervention duration in weeks predicted symptom reduction. These findings suggest that cardio exercises may offer immediate benefits for adults with ADHD, and that sustained engagement in physical activity may be beneficial as well. While the number of studies was limited and the methodological quality generally low, the findings offer preliminary insights into the potential of physical activity interventions for adults with ADHD. Continued research with more rigorous designs is needed to strengthen the evidence base. • Acute physical activity interventions reduce ADHD symptoms in adults • Cardio exercises reduce ADHD symptoms in acute interventions • Objective outcome measures show ADHD symptom reduction in acute interventions • Longer-duration chronic physical activity interventions may reduce ADHD symptoms • Most included studies were of weak quality and showed publication bias