Chances and Limitations of Video Games in the Fight against Childhood Obesity—A Systematic Review

Mack, Isabelle; Bayer, Carolin; Schäffeler, Norbert; Reiband, Nadine; Brölz, Ellen; Zurstiege, Guido; Fernández‐Aranda, Fernando; Gawrilow, Caterina; Zipfel, Stephan

doi:10.1002/erv.2514

Cited by 41 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Systematic reviews have shown that AVGs have a positive impact on the social life of children and adolescents, as active games have a recreational and socialization approach [39]. Studies claim that some exergames offer a unique and exciting opportunity for positive effects on social interaction and cooperation in this audience [17,21]. Specifically, in adolescence, it is known that an important issue is social relationships and what makes this aspect very difficult is the need for isolation at home, causing frustration, nervousness, discontent, nostalgia and boredom because of social distancing [48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies suggest that the use of active video games (AVGs), including electronic motion games, contribute to increasing daily caloric expenditure, interaction and social support, and can be used as strategies for coping with the low level of physical activity of young people during the pandemic [17][18][19]. Thus, studies with the use of interactive video games have begun to be conducted in order to use technology to "break" from the sedentary lifestyle [20][21][22][23] by performing physical activities with light to moderate intensity, encouraging and increasing energy expenditure [24,25]. In this way, in a context of social distancing, which requires commitment to take care of one's health with adequate daily habits, active games can be an interesting alternative to provide greater mental health, increase physical activity and family interaction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

Santos

Medeiros

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The aim of this study was to synthesize the evidence on the effects of active video games (AVGs) on mental health, physical fitness and body composition of children and adolescents. A search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed; MEDLINE (by Ovid); SportDiscus, Cochrane library systematic reviews (CENTRAL) and EMBASE with no language restrictions during October 2020. Reviews on the use of AVGs were included in the study. We use the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) scale to analyze the methodological quality of the studies. Seventeen systematic reviews and meta-analyzes were included on the effects of AVGs with 30 to 4728 children and adolescents of both sexes with ages ranging from 6 to 19 years. In five studies, the population was overweight or obese. Regarding the quality, 12 studies were of moderate quality, two had high quality, two had low quality and one showed very low quality. The analyzed data indicate that the use of AVGs with a frequency of 1 to 3 times a week with durations of between 10 and 90 min per day shows positive effects on mental health and physical functioning. There was moderate quality evidence that AVGs can result in benefits for self-esteem, increased energy expenditure, physical activity and reduced body mass index in children and adolescents who used AVGs in the home environment. Further research is needed on this tool to help in the process of social isolation and consequently in promoting health and well-being.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

Santos

Medeiros

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A systematic review showed that most studies achieved positive results using video games in the prevention and treatment of obesity in children and adolescents. The authors emphasized that video games provide an additional and supporting element in preventing and treating obesity along with the potential to increase treatment compliance and to promote success [22]. The “Alien Health Game,” a nutrition instruction game, increased short-term nutrition knowledge among primary school children [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Gaming for Nutritional Education: A Survey on Preferences, Motives, and Needs of Children and Adolescents

Holzmann¹,

Dischl²,

Schäfer³

et al. 2019

JMIR Form Res

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Background Use of novel information and communication technologies are frequently discussed as promising tools to prevent and treat overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Objective This survey aims to describe the preferences, motives, and needs of children and adolescents regarding nutrition and digital games. Methods We conducted a survey in 6 secondary schools in the southern region of Germany using a 43-item questionnaire. Questions referred to preferences, motives, and needs of children and adolescents regarding nutrition and digital games. In addition, knowledge regarding nutrition was assessed with 4 questions. We collected self-reported sociodemographic and anthropometric data. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Results In total, 293 children and adolescents participated in the study, with ages 12-18 years (137 girls, 46.8%), weight 30.0-120.0 (mean 60.2 [SD 13.2]) kg, and height 1.4-2.0 (mean 1.7 [SD 0.1]) m. A total of 5.5% (16/290) correctly answered the 4 questions regarding nutrition knowledge. Study participants acquired digital nutritional information primarily from the internet (166/291, 57.0%) and television (97/291, 33.3%), while school education (161/291, 55.3%) and parents or other adults (209/291, 71.8%) were the most relevant nondigital information sources. Most participants (242/283, 85.5%) reported that they regularly play digital games. More than half (144/236, 61.0%) stated that they play digital games on a daily basis on their smartphones or tablets, and almost 70% (151/282, 66.5%) reported playing digital games for ≤30 minutes without any interruption. One-half of respondents (144/280, 51.4%) also stated that they were interested in receiving information about nutrition while playing digital games. Conclusions This survey suggests that nutrition knowledge in children and adolescents might be deficient. Most children and adolescents play digital games and express interest in acquiring nutritional information during digital gameplay. A digital game with a focus on sound nutrition could be a potential educational tool for imparting nutrition knowledge and promoting healthier nutrition behaviors in children and adolescents.

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“…Additionally, health education linked to schools is also a good alternative. Schools would benefit from incorporating serious games into their curricula, making it more attractive to students and approximating children to technology on their daily routine 38 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serious games as an educational strategy to control childhood obesity: a systematic literature review

Dias

Domingues

Tibes

et al. 2018

Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem

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Objectives:to identify in the literature the efficacy of serious games to improve knowledge for and/or behavioral changes among overweight or obese children. Method:Systematic Literature Review. The Cochrane Systematic Reviews Handbook was used. The studies were collected from the following databases: Public Medline; Web Of Science; Science Direct; Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature; and the Health Game Research and Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature. The descriptors were video games and obesity, while the key word was serious games. Inclusion criteria were: studies classified as Randomized Clinical Trials written in English, Spanish or Portuguese and in which children were the subjects of the study. Results:2,722 studies were identified in the initial search and six studies remained in the final sample. The papers focused on encouraging behavioral changes in players, including physical exercise and improved eating habits. The studies report that serious games are a potential strategy to encourage positive coping with childhood obesity. Conclusion:research in this field is an expanding and promising strategy and serious games represent an alternative means to provide health education to children.

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Chances and Limitations of Video Games in the Fight against Childhood Obesity—A Systematic Review

Cited by 41 publications

References 92 publications

Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

Digital Gaming for Nutritional Education: A Survey on Preferences, Motives, and Needs of Children and Adolescents

Serious games as an educational strategy to control childhood obesity: a systematic literature review

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