ReviewDigital health
The effect of chatbot-based exercise interventions on physical activity, exercise habits, and sedentary behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Review in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Digital Tools' Effectiveness on Physical Activity Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: Umbrella Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Pooled it
- Digital communication tools used to promote healthy lifestyles: an overview of reviews from the BRIDGE project.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Review
- Digital health solutions for chronic disease physical activity management: wearable devices, artificial intelligence, and public health implementation.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Post-intervention durability of standalone digital behavior change interventions for physical activity in adults: a focused mini review and quantitative synthesis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Digital Resources as a Tool for Physical Activity Promotion and Attendance among University Students: a Pilot Study.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Article
- Feasibility and usability of a ChatGPT-based app to support physical activity: A pilot study.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: Chatbots, transcending the limitations of space and time while reducing user resistance, offer a personalized and autonomous approach potentially enhancing digital health interventions. This systematic review aims to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of chatbot-based exercise interventions (EIs) in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), emphasizing physical activity (PA), exercise habits (EH), and sedentary behavior (SB). Methods: A comprehensive search was carried out across Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane databases for studies published from January 2010 to October 2024. The characteristics of the included studies and the employed chatbots were analyzed. A meta-analysis was performed to synthesize the impact of chatbot-based EIs on PA, EH, and SB. We carried out subgroup analyses (SAs) for investigating potential modifying effects. Results: This review includes 12 studies conducted between 2013 and 2024, encompassing 2446 participants and 240 parent-child dyads, with participant ages ranging from 8 to 71 years. The chatbot-based EIs significantly enhanced PA compared to control groups (SMD = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.04-0.37, Conclusion: Chatbot-based EIs appear promising in improving PA, particularly moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). Nonetheless, further RCTs with diverse chatbot designs, larger sample sizes, low-resource settings, objective measures of SB (e.g., accelerometers), and extended follow-ups are essential to corroborate these findings. Future research should also explore the adaptation of chatbots to various socioeconomic and cultural contexts and the integration of technologies like ChatGPT into EIs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.