{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T16:49:25Z","timestamp":1786121365103,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The current literature review presents information about the association of PA in connection with the results of mental health from the viewpoint of studies conducted among various samples such as university students, teenagers, and healthy people. This narrative review examines the interrelationships between physical activity (PA), mental health, and the sociocultural environment among diverse populations in Saudi Arabia. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar for studies published through 2025. The findings of the review reveal that PA also positively affects sleep, cognitive functioning, and quality of life. Finally, intervention research reveals a positive effect of PA on emotional, social, and motivational functioning despite the small number of high-quality studies. The factors preventing PA are diverse and may be considered under the umbrella of social (i.e., a lack of peer and family support), environmental (i.e., an unattractive and unfriendly environment) and cultural (i.e., restrictive cultural norms affecting the accessibility of women to sporting facilities) barriers. Although national interventions under the Saudi Vision 2030 program would encourage participation through raising awareness, constructing gyms, and creating a conducive urban environment for this purpose, the current research does not provide insights into the impact of the proposed interventions on the stated outcome variable. There is a need for longitudinal research that would investigate the impact of interventions on different groups (i.e., non-students). Also, no gender-sensitive interventions have been tested so far. The impact of national policy should be studied further as well.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1795785","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T04:21:57Z","timestamp":1786076517000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The impact of physical activity on mental health across diverse populations in Saudi Arabia: a narrative review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Amani","family":"Alharthy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Science, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0318798","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0318798","article-title":"Perceived barriers to physical activity and their predictors among adults in the central region in Saudi Arabia: gender differences and cultural aspects","volume":"20","author":"Abdelhay","year":"2025","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e16059","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.16059","article-title":"Physical activity and health-related quality of life among adults living in Jeddah city Saudi Arabia","volume":"11","author":"Abdulrashid","year":"2023","journal-title":"PeerJ."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1186\/s13034-017-0188-x","article-title":"Predictors of adolescents\u2019 mental health problems in Saudi Arabia: findings from the Jeeluna\u00ae national study","volume":"11","author":"Abou Abbas","year":"2017","journal-title":"Child Adolesc. 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