ReviewJMIR pediatrics and parenting2022
Effectiveness of Mobile Apps in Promoting Healthy Behavior Changes and Preventing Obesity in Children: Systematic Review.
Review in JMIR pediatrics and parenting, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digital Tools' Effectiveness on Physical Activity Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: Umbrella Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Pooled it
- Mobile- and Web-Based Interventions for Promoting Healthy Diets, Preventing Obesity, and Improving Health Behaviors in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions Promoting Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of the Change4Life Food Scanner app on children's diets and parental psychological outcomes: a randomised pilot and feasibility study.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Is Gamification the New Panacea for Health Behavioral Changes? Implications for the Health and Life Insurance Industry.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of a school-based Group Motivational Interviewing intervention to reduce sugar-sweetened beverages among young people in East London: DISS feasibility study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Designing, Developing, and Evaluating a Stakeholder-Informed Mobile App to Promote Physical Activity in Children.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Digital play and rehabilitation for children and adolescents in hospitals, outpatient departments and rehabilitation centres: A scoping review.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- MyKid'sNutrition mobile application: effect on mothers' nutritional knowledge and nutritional status of preschool-aged children with undernutrition - a randomised controlled trial.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2025Article
- Ecological system theory and school-age obesity in Thailand: a participation action research for implications to practice.Primary health care research & development · 2024Article
- Article
- Exploring Children's Knowledge of Healthy Eating, Digital Media Use, and Caregivers' Perspectives to Inform Design and Contextual Considerations for Game-Based Interventions in Schools for Low-Income Families in Lima, Peru: Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
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- Barriers and facilitators to parents' engagement with and perceived impact of a childhood obesity app: A mixed-methods study.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Digital behavioral dietary interventions to promote a healthy diet among children and adolescents: a scoping review of technologies, design, behavioral theory, and assessed outcomes.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2024Article
- Using Human-Centered Design and Cocreation to Create the Live 5-2-1-0 Mobile App to Promote Healthy Behaviors in Children: App Design and Development.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2023Article
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Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile apps have been increasingly incorporated into healthy behavior promotion interventions targeting childhood obesity. However, their effectiveness remains unclear.
objectiveThis paper aims to conduct a systematic review examining the effectiveness of mobile apps aimed at preventing childhood obesity by promoting health behavior changes in diet, physical activity, or sedentary behavior in children aged 8 to 12 years.
methodsMEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ERIC were systematically searched for peer-reviewed primary studies from January 2008 to July 2021, which included children aged 8 to 12 years; involved mobile app use; and targeted at least one obesity-related factor, including diet, physical activity, or sedentary behavior. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments were conducted by 2 authors.
resultsOf the 13 studies identified, most used a quasi-experimental design (n=8, 62%). Significant improvements in physical activity (4/8, 50% studies), dietary outcomes (5/6, 83% studies), and BMI (2/6, 33% studies) were reported. All 6 multicomponent interventions and 57% (4/7) of standalone interventions reported significant outcomes in ≥1 behavioral change outcome measured (anthropometric, physical activity, dietary, and screen time outcomes). Gamification, behavioral monitoring, and goal setting were common features of the mobile apps used in these studies.
conclusionsApps for health behavior promotion interventions have the potential to increase the adoption of healthy behaviors among children; however, their effectiveness in improving anthropometric measures remains unclear. Further investigation of studies that use more rigorous study designs, as well as mobile apps as a standalone intervention, is needed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.