Resistance training may make young people more confident about doing it.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   Four studies combined 460 young people aged 10 to 16, from the USA, Australia and Canada.

2. 02

   What they did

   Training groups did resistance exercises, such as squats and bench presses, two to four times a week for 8 to 24 weeks. Other groups did no resistance training. Some had only nutrition input, some kept up their usual activity, and some did physical education.

3. 03

   What happened

   Compared with other groups, the training groups felt more confident, more physically strong and better about themselves. How people rated their looks, fitness and sporting ability did not clearly change. Only two of the seven studies were rated strong quality, so the results are tentative.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across four studies, young people who did resistance training felt more sure about doing it than the other groups.

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 460 people · vs people who got no training or other activity · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

Source