Covariates to examine using simple meta-regression
| Characteristics | Variable |
| Study | Publication year, impact factor of journal, country study conducted, type of control group, bias (sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome assessors, incomplete outcome data, selective outcome reporting), type of analysis |
| Participant | Age, gender, race/ethnicity, maturational stage |
| Exercise | Type (aerobic, strength, both), length, frequency, intensity, duration, total minutes, total minutes (adjusted for compliance), mode, compliance, exercise supervision, setting, number of sets, number of repetitions, rest between sets, number of exercises, type of resistance, equipment used, fidelity (design, training, delivery, receipt, enactment) |
| Outcome | Baseline values for primary outcomes (BMI in kg/m2, fat mass, percent fat), method used to assess adiposity, that is, instrumentation, body weight, lean body mass, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, diet, energy intake, energy expenditure, physical activity level, non-exercise activity, maximum oxygen consumption (relative and absolute), muscular strength, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glycosylated haemoglobin, fasting and non-fasting glucose and insulin |
BMI, body mass index.