The systematic review revealed overall positive effects of outdoor time  on physical activity , sedentary behaviour , and cardiorespiratory fitness , although causality could not be assumed due to a lack of RCTs .
Motor skill development was unrelated to outdoor time ; however , this relationship was only examined in a single study of preschool children .
No studies were found that examined associations between outdoor time and musculoskeletal fitness
The objective of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between outdoor time and : ( 1 ) physical activity , ( 2 ) cardiorespiratory fitness , ( 3 ) musculoskeletal fitness , ( 4 ) sedentary behaviour ; or ( 5 ) motor skill development in children aged 3 - 12 years .
A cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating an incentive-based outdoor physical activity programme to increase outdoor time and prevent myopia in children.
PURPOSE To evaluate an incentive-based intervention to increase time spent outdoors among children in a 9-month cluster r and omised controlled trial . METHODS Two hundred and eighty-five children aged 6 - 12 years of age were r and omised to the intervention ( n = 147 ) or control arm ( n = 138 ) in the Family incentive trial ( FIT ) . The FIT intervention comprised of targeted education on myopia and good eye care habits , structured weekend outdoor activities and incentives for children to increase their daily steps via pedometers . The main outcome measure was outdoor time , measured by the WHO question naire and a 1-week diary . RESULTS Interim analysis at 6 months showed a significant increase in mean outdoor time per week in the intervention arm ( 14.75 h week(-1 ) ) compared to the control arm ( 12.40 h week(-1 ) ) as measured by the question naire ( p = 0.04 ) . However , greater outdoor time was not statistically significant at the end of the trial ( 15.95 h week(-1 ) vs 14.34 h in the control group ( p = 0.29 ) . CONCLUSIONS There was an increase in outdoor time for children in the incentive-based physical activity outdoor program after 6 months but not at the end of the trial . Further larger school trials with better compliance with the intervention and longer duration could be conducted to evaluate clinical outcomes such as myopic shifts
The systematic review revealed overall positive effects of outdoor time  on physical activity , sedentary behaviour , and cardiorespiratory fitness , although causality could not be assumed due to a lack of RCTs .
Motor skill development was unrelated to outdoor time ; however , this relationship was only examined in a single study of preschool children .
No studies were found that examined associations between outdoor time and musculoskeletal fitness
The objective of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between outdoor time and : ( 1 ) physical activity , ( 2 ) cardiorespiratory fitness , ( 3 ) musculoskeletal fitness , ( 4 ) sedentary behaviour ; or ( 5 ) motor skill development in children aged 3 - 12 years .