Investigating the impact of physical activity in enhancing the well-being of children affected by emotional, behavioral, and developmental disorders

Children's mental health problems have emerged from a long history of misunderstanding and neglect, becoming the central concern of researchers, educators, and practitioners. This research aims to highlight the role of physical activity in mental health issues and its effectiveness among children with ASD, depression and anxiety, and other behavioral disorders. This chapter reviews the literature available on this topic to highlight the gap in the existing literature. Physical activity is gaining increasing attention as a viable and potentially effective approach to preventing and treating a range of mental health problems in adults, children, and young people. The chapter focuses on children's externalizing and internalizing problems. It analyzes findings from research studies to explore the link between exercise and children's psychopathology and evaluate comprehensive physical fitness and its direct or indirect effects on children's mental health. These findings suggest that there is a lack of concrete research on physical activity and mental health issues among children.