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Description
Introduction: Nowadays, pétanque has become increasingly popular, as it is played in various prominent sports competitions. Several studies have also reported associations between pétanque and different aspects of health. Therefore, we aimed to provide a descriptive summary of studies examining the relationship between pétanque and health status. Methods: We searched PubMed and Embase for relevant articles from inception to July 12, 2025. All full-text observational studies investigating pétanque in relation to health outcomes were included. The findings from the included studies are presented descriptively. Results: A total of seven studies investigated the association between pétanque and health status. Reported outcomes included shoulder flexion limitation (1 study), anxiety levels (1 study), reductions in total cholesterol (3 studies), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (1 study), resting heart rate (1 study), rate of perceived exertion (1 study), HbA1c levels (2 studies), and visceral fat mass (2 studies). Additionally, one study found that 65% of participants chose pétanque as their preferred sport. Conclusions: Pétanque has been associated with improvements in several health outcomes; however, further research is needed to examine these effects in detail and to control for potential confounding factors in order to generate more robust evidence.
Keywords: Pétanque, health status, descriptive, review, SDGs.
