The effects of exercise on smartphone addiction among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The rapid advancement of mobile communication technologies has made smartphones an integral part of daily life. However, this has led to a rise in problematic smartphone use, commonly termed smartphone addiction, which is associated with a range of adverse physical, psychological, and social consequences. University students, a particularly vulnerable group due to their developmental stage and high smartphone engagement, are at significant risk, with problematic use prevalence estimated at 21.3% in China. Such addiction is linked to ophthalmic fatigue, depressive moods, loneliness, and diminished real-world social skills. While various interventions exist, conventional psychological therapies often require intensive resources, limiting their feasibility. Exercise, by contrast, offers a more accessible, cost-effective, and integrative approach that can simultaneously address the physical and mental health correlates of addiction. Despite this, existing reviews have not focused specifically on university students or provided detailed data for subgroup analyses, and inconsistencies in exercise parameters (e.g., type, duration, frequency) hinder the development of practical recommendations. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effects of exercise on smartphone addiction among university students. Our review quantifies the pooled effects of exercise and, through subgroup analyses, compares intervention characteristics to identify parameters associated with optimal outcomes, aiming to provide actionable guidance for implementing exercise-based strategies in this population.