The bibliometric analysis of studies on physical literacy for a healthy life

Abstract

This article empirically provides a global overview of physical literacy, which allows for the understanding of the structure of the epistemic community studying literacy for healthy living. Publications registered in the Web of Science are analyzed using bibliometrics (spatial, productive, and relational) based on data from 391 records, published between 2007 and April 2022, applying five bibliometric laws and using VOSviewer software for data and metadata processing and visualization. In terms of results, we observe an exponential increase in scientific production in the last decade, with a concentration of scientific discussion on physical literacy in seven journals; a production distributed in 46 countries situated on the five continents, but concentrated in Canada and the United States; co-authored research networks composed of 1256 researchers but with a production concentrated of around 2% of these, and an even smaller number of authors with high production and high impact. Finally, there are four thematic blocks that, although interacting, constitute three specific knowledge production communities that have been delineated over time in relation to health and quality of life, fitness and physical competence, education, and fundamental movement skills.