A Bibliometric Analysis of Physical Literacy Studies in Relation to Health of Children and Adolescents

Javier Urbano-Mairena; Antonio Castillo-Paredes; Laura Muñoz-Bermejo; Ángel Denche-Zamorano; Jorge Rojo-Ramos; Raquel Pastor-Cisneros; María Mendoza-Muñoz

doi:10.3390/children10040660

A Bibliometric Analysis of Physical Literacy Studies in Relation to Health of Children and Adolescents

Children (Basel). 2023 Mar 30;10(4):660. doi: 10.3390/children10040660.

Authors

Javier Urbano-Mairena¹, Antonio Castillo-Paredes², Laura Muñoz-Bermejo³, Ángel Denche-Zamorano¹, Jorge Rojo-Ramos⁴, Raquel Pastor-Cisneros¹, María Mendoza-Muñoz^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Promoting a Healthy Society Research Group (PHeSO), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Caceres, Spain.
² Grupo AFySE, Investigación en Actividad Física y Salud Escolar, Escuela de Pedagogía en Educación Física, Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Las Américas, Santiago 8370040, Chile.
³ Social Impact and Innovation in Health (InHEALTH), University Centre of Mérida, University of Extremadura, 06800 Merida, Spain.
⁴ Physical Activity for Education, Performance and Health (PAEPH) Research Group, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10004 Caceres, Spain.
⁵ Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), University of Évora, 7004-516 Évora, Portugal.
⁶ Research Group on Physical and Health Literacy and Health-Related Quality of Life (PHYQOL), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Caceres, Spain.

Abstract

Regular physical activity (PA) is an essential component of maintaining good health, thereby improving the physical and psychological well-being of the population. PA performed during childhood and adolescence can have repercussions in adulthood, contributing to the prevention of chronic activities and improving quality of life. Given its high relationship with PA, physical literacy could play a crucial role in valuing and participating in a physically active lifestyle, thus addressing low rates of PA participation from an early age. This bibliometric analysis provides a globalized view of physical literacy (PL) and its relationship with health, pathologies, prevention, or intervention among children and adolescents. Publications registered on Web of Science were analyzed using bibliometrics based on data from 141 documents published between 2014 and 2022, while the VOSviewer software v. 1.6.18. was used for the processing and visualization of the data and metadata. The results show an exponential growth in scientific research over the last 8 years, with an accumulation of documents in four journals and a distribution of publications spanning thirty-seven countries and regions. The network of researchers consists of 500 researchers, with the largest number of publications corresponding to 18 co-authors with at least 5 publications. The principal purpose of this research was to identify the most prolific co-authors, most-cited journals and co-authors, and the most relevant keywords.

Keywords: bibliometric; healthy behavior; monitoring; physical activity.

Grants and funding

This research is funded by the Extremadura Public Employment Service (SEXPE), grant number TE-0037-21. The funders played no role in the study design, the decision to publish or the preparation of the manuscript. M.M.-M., was supported by a grant from the Universities Ministry and the European Union (Next Generation UE) (MS-12). Á.D.-Z. (FPU20/04201) was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. Grants FPU20/04201 were funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and, when appropriate, by “European Social Fund Investing in your future” or by “European UnionNextGenerationEU/PRTR”. The author R.P.-C. was supported with a grant by the Valhondo Calaff Foundation (Caceres, Spain). The APC was funded by the Open Access Program of Universidad de Las Américas.