Mapping the knowledge of scientific production on the ALPHA-Fitness battery at school age: bibliometric analysis (2010–2025)

Abstract

Introduction Numerous studies have used the Assessing Levels of Physical Activity and Fitness (ALPHA) battery to evaluate physical fitness (PF) and its positive impact on the health of school-age children, assessing various components of fitness. Despite its widespread use, no bibliometric review has systematically examined research trends or scientific output related to the ALPHA-Fitness battery. This study aimed to conduct a bibliometric review to identify research trends on the ALPHA-Fitness battery. Materials and methods Theoretical study using bibliometrics as a research technique, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. A total of 266 documents published between January 1, 2010, and February 28, 2025, were identified in the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases and analyzed using VOSviewer software (v.1.6.19). The search was independently reviewed and verified by two researchers. The final search equation applied was (Alpha fitness test OR alpha fitness battery OR Alpha-fitness test OR fitness alpha test OR alpha fitness test battery AND physical fitness). Results The final sample consisted of 266 documents, mostly published as research articles (98.87%). Scientific output was highest between 2019 and 2024 ( n = 184), with 2019 also recording the most citations ( n = 807), followed by 2017 ( n = 767). López-Gil was the most prolific first author, with eight documents and 130 citations. The most frequent keywords were Children ( n = 43), Adolescents ( n = 34), Cardiorespiratory fitness ( n = 28), Physical fitness ( n = 21), Obesity ( n = 20), and Childhood ( n = 19). Spain led in publication output (63 articles, 2,130 citations), followed by Sweden (14 articles, 1,469 citations) and Chile (13 articles, 91 citations). Conclusion The analysis of the existing literature on the ALPHA-Fitness battery reveals a predominance of studies focused on the battery itself ( n = 210 documents), compared to studies involving the administration of at least one test from the battery ( n = 56 documents).