TY - JOUR
T1 - Digital Health Interventions for Weight Management in Children and Adolescents
T2 - Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
AU - Kouvari, Matina
AU - Karipidou, Melina
AU - Tsiampalis, Thomas
AU - Mamalaki, Eirini
AU - Poulimeneas, Dimitrios
AU - Bathrellou, Eirini
AU - Panagiotakos, Demosthenes
AU - Yannakoulia, Mary
N1 - Funding Information:
This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme through the NUTRISHIELD project under grant agreement 818110. This paper reflects only the authors’ views; the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Publisher Copyright:
©Matina Kouvari, Melina Karipidou, Thomas Tsiampalis, Eirini Mamalaki, Dimitrios Poulimeneas, Eirini Bathrellou, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Mary Yannakoulia.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Background: Recent meta-analyses suggest the use of technology-based interventions as a treatment option for obesity in adulthood. Similar meta-analytic approaches for children are scarce. Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis is to examine the effect of technology-based interventions on overweight and obesity treatment in children and adolescents. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and Cochrane Library for randomized clinical trials to identify interventional studies published between January 2000 and February 2021. Results: In total, 9 manuscripts from 8 clinical trials of 582 children or adolescents were considered eligible. BMI, BMI z-score, and other BMI-related baseline metrics during and after intervention were considered as primary outcomes. In 7 of 8 studies, a technology-based intervention was applied in addition to conventional care. Of the 8 studies, 6 studies were conducted in the United States, 1 in Australia, and 1 in northwestern Europe. In total, 5 studies included adolescents, whereas the rest addressed children aged 9 to 12 years. Intervention duration ranged from 3 to 24 months. Significant differences between groups in BMI metric changes were reported by 5 of the 8 studies. Pooled analysis revealed an overall significant decrease in BMI metrics in the intervention group (standardized mean difference –0.61, 95% CI –1.10 to –0.13; P=.01). Subgroup analysis revealed that significance was lost in case of no parental involvement (standardized mean difference –0.36, 95% CI –0.83 to 0.11; P=.14). The small number of clinical trials found, the varying study quality, and the study heterogeneity are some limitations of this review. Conclusions: The studies reported herein describe functional and acceptable technology-based approaches, in addition to conventional treatments, to enhance weight loss in young populations.
AB - Background: Recent meta-analyses suggest the use of technology-based interventions as a treatment option for obesity in adulthood. Similar meta-analytic approaches for children are scarce. Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis is to examine the effect of technology-based interventions on overweight and obesity treatment in children and adolescents. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and Cochrane Library for randomized clinical trials to identify interventional studies published between January 2000 and February 2021. Results: In total, 9 manuscripts from 8 clinical trials of 582 children or adolescents were considered eligible. BMI, BMI z-score, and other BMI-related baseline metrics during and after intervention were considered as primary outcomes. In 7 of 8 studies, a technology-based intervention was applied in addition to conventional care. Of the 8 studies, 6 studies were conducted in the United States, 1 in Australia, and 1 in northwestern Europe. In total, 5 studies included adolescents, whereas the rest addressed children aged 9 to 12 years. Intervention duration ranged from 3 to 24 months. Significant differences between groups in BMI metric changes were reported by 5 of the 8 studies. Pooled analysis revealed an overall significant decrease in BMI metrics in the intervention group (standardized mean difference –0.61, 95% CI –1.10 to –0.13; P=.01). Subgroup analysis revealed that significance was lost in case of no parental involvement (standardized mean difference –0.36, 95% CI –0.83 to 0.11; P=.14). The small number of clinical trials found, the varying study quality, and the study heterogeneity are some limitations of this review. Conclusions: The studies reported herein describe functional and acceptable technology-based approaches, in addition to conventional treatments, to enhance weight loss in young populations.
KW - Childhood obesity
KW - Digital health
KW - EHealth
KW - MHealth
KW - Mobile phone
KW - Youth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124626592&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/30675
DO - 10.2196/30675
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35156934
AN - SCOPUS:85124626592
VL - 24
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Journal of Medical Internet Research
JF - Journal of Medical Internet Research
SN - 1438-8871
IS - 2
M1 - e30675
ER -