Obesity is a risk factor that exponentially increases morbidity and mortality in the world. Today, new health strategies are being implemented based on the use of social media but the use and effectiveness for these interventions needs to be assessed. The objective of this systematic review is to assess the impact of social-media-delivered weight loss interventions among teenagers and young adults. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and OVID to identify articles that focused on this topic. Fourteen studies were included in the final review. The commitment of the participants was found to be fundamental factor when assessing the impact of social-media-delivered weight loss interventions, but also the social context in which the interventions were carried out. Our study highlights the potential of social media platforms to address weight loss interventions among younger groups. The works evaluated showed the usefulness of social media for the adequate monitoring and control in these groups. Finally, the current variety of study designs in this field highlights the need for greater homogeneity in their methodology and applications, which is a fundamental step before these tools could be considered a suitable tool for overweight management in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND Obesity is a risk factor that exponentially increases morbidity and mortality in the world. Today, new health strategies are being implemented based on the use of social media but the use and effectiveness for these interventions needs to be assessed. OBJECTIVE The objective of this systematic review is to assess the impact of social media-delivered weight loss interventions among teenagers and young adults, the age group that presents the higher use and exposition to online health-related contents. METHODS We searched PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and OVID to identify articles that focused on this topic. Our research terms focused on three basic dimensions: social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Myspace), weight management (obesity, overweight, diet, etc.), and age group (teenagers and young adults). RESULTS A total of 11 studies were included in the final review. Of the 11 studies, 4 analysed weight loss through physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits, 2 articles focused on physical activity, and 3 articles studied weight loss but also mentioned the effect on mental health. The types of studies included were randomised controlled trial (6), experimental design (1), online survey (2), controlled trial non-randomised (1), and content analysis (1). The commitment of the participants were found to be fundamental factor when assessing the influence of social media-delivered weight loss interventions, but also the social context in which the interventions was carried out. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights the potential of social media platforms to address weight loss interventions among younger groups. Although the effectiveness of social media-delivered weight loss interventions among teenagers and young adults was not evident in all the studies we found, the works evaluated showed the usefulness of these new tools for the adequate monitoring and control in these groups. Finally, the current variety of study designs in this field highlights the need for greater homogeneity in their methodology and practical applications, which is a fundamental step before these tools could be considered a suitable tool for fighting overweight and obesity in clinical practice.