Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30339086›Full record

ArticleGames for health journal2019

Nutrition Education and Dietary Behavior Change Games: A Scoping Review.

Tom Baranowski, Courtney Ryan, Andrés Hoyos-Cespedes, Amy Shirong Lu

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Games for health journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Intervention Using Video and Comic Books Targeting Nutritional Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026
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  9. Nutriacción+: A Tool for Learning About Healthy Eating for Economically and Educationally Vulnerable Children.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tom Baranowski1 Department of Pediatrics, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
Courtney Ryan1 Department of Pediatrics, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
Andrés Hoyos-Cespedes2 Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Amy Shirong Lu3 Health Technology Lab, Department of Communication Studies, College of Arts, Media & Design, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.

Funding

The Narrative Effect of Active Video Games on Long-term Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical ActivityR01DK109316 · NIDDK · NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · PI LU, AMY SHIRONG · 2016 to 2020
$3.2M
Video games for Obesity & Diabetes Prevention: Efficacy TrialR01DK091254 · NIDDK · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI BARANOWSKI, TOM · 2012 to 2016
$2.9M
NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK091254NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK109316
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Games provide an attractive venue for engaging participants and increasing nutrition-related knowledge and dietary behavior change, but no review has appeared devoted to this literature. A scoping review of nutrition education and dietary behavior change videogames or interactive games was conducted. A systematic search was made of PubMed, Agricola, and Google Scholar. Information was abstracted from 22 publications. To be included, the publication had to include a videogame or interactive experience involving games (a videogame alone, minigames inserted into a larger multimedia experience, or game as part of a human-delivered intervention); game's design objective was to influence dietary behavior, a psychosocial determinant of a dietary behavior, or nutrition knowledge (hereinafter referred to as diet-related); must have been reported in English and must have appeared in a professional publication, including some report of outcomes or results (thereby passing some peer review). This review was restricted to the diet-related information in the selected games. Diversity in targeted dietary knowledge and intake behaviors, targeted populations/audiences, game mechanics, behavioral theories, research designs, and findings was revealed. The diversity and quality of the research in general was poor, precluding a meta-analysis or systematic review. All but one of the studies reported some positive outcome from playing the game(s). One reported that a web-based education program resulted in more change than the game-based intervention. Studies of games may have been missed; a number of dietary/nutrition games are known for which no evaluation is known; and the data presented on the games and research were limited and inconsistent. Conclusions and Implications: A firmer research base is needed to establish the efficacy and effectiveness of nutrition education and dietary behavior change games.

Indexed as

Behavior TherapyFeeding BehaviorGames, RecreationalHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansDietary behavior changeGamesNutrition educationScoping

Identifiers

PMID30339086
PMCPMC6909754

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.