BackgroundA growing number of studies suggest that exposure to cues which are associated with weight control can prime or prompt controlled food intake in tempting food environments. However, findings are mixed and understanding which types of cues and for whom such cues may be most effective is needed to inform subsequent research and societal applications. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to evaluate the effects of exposure to weight control cues compared with control cues on food intake.MethodsPsycINFO, Medline, Embase and Web of Science were searched using key terms. Hedge’s g was used to calculate effect sizes based on mean food intake, standard deviations and sample sizes extracted from relevant publications and, a random effects model was used for the meta-analysis.ResultsTwenty-five articles consisting of 26 studies were eligible. Data from 25 studies (31 effect sizes) were available for the meta-analysis. Overall, weight control cues reduced food intake, albeit to a trivial effect (ES: -0.149, 95% CI: -0.271 to − 0.027). Subgroup analyses when studies which induced negative affect were removed showed that for individuals with strong weight control goals the effect was small-to-moderate (ES: -0.440, 95% CI: -0.718 to − 0.163), whereas for individuals with weak weight control goals this effect was trivial and non-significant (ES: 0.014, 95% CI: -0.249 to 0.278). Cue type and level of engagement did not significantly moderate the effect; however, specific cues (low-calorie foods and thin models) and attended engagement yielded significant effects. Caution is needed interpreting these findings as most studies were rated with high risk of bias and a number of studies could not be included in the subgroup analyses.ConclusionsBased on the data available, weight control cues reduce food intake in individuals with strong weight control goals. Further research is needed to explore longer term effects of cue exposure and confirm underlying mechanisms. PROSPERO registry#CRD42016052396.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12966-018-0698-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

IMPORTANCE Childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health threats facing the UK, and video game use is considered a risk behavior for obesity among children. However, few studies have explored the prospective association between video game use and body mass index (BMI) or the potential mediators of this association.OBJECTIVES To investigate whether a longer-term association exists between video game use at a young age and BMI SD score in later years, independent of television use, and to ascertain whether this association is mediated by other energy-balance behaviors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis cohort study is a secondary analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative sample of children who were born in the UK between September 1, 2000, and January 31, 2002, that focused on data collected when the children were aged 5, 7, 11, and 14 years. Data for all variables, except BMI, were provided by parental or caregiver reporting if the children were younger than 14 years of age. At age 14 years, the children self-reported their own behavior. Initial data analysis was conducted between

BackgroundVideo gamers are a population at heightened risk of developing obesity due to the sedentary nature of gaming, increased energy intake, and the disruption caused to their sleep. This increases their risk of developing a number of noncommunicable diseases. To date, research seeking to improve health behaviors has focused on developing novel video games to promote behavior change. Although positive results have emerged from this research, large-scale success has been limited due to the lack of transferability to mainstream games and the focus on children and adolescents. The gaming community has a number of unique aspects, which have received comparatively less attention than the development of new video games.ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper is to highlight under-researched areas that have the potential to encourage positive health behavior among this community.MethodsA narrative review of the lay and academic literature was conducted to provide context and support to our claims that further research could be beneficial in this area.ResultsResearch has found that advertising can have implicit effects on an individual’s memories, which could influence later decisions. However, the effect of the exponential growth of in-game advertisements and the brand sponsorship of gaming events and professional gamers have not been explored in the gaming community. The possibility of using advertising techniques to encourage positive health behaviors within games or at these events has also not been explored. Research suggests that virtual communities can be effective at disseminating health information, but the efficacy of this needs to be explored using known community influencers within the gaming community.ConclusionsThis paper has highlighted a number of potential avenues for the development of interventions within the gaming community. Further research must be conducted alongside game developers to ensure that any in-game developed interventions do not deter gameplay and gamers to ensure that potential approaches are acceptable.

Video gamers are a population at heightened risk of developing obesity due to the sedentary nature of gaming, increased energy intake and the disruption caused to their sleep. This increases their risk of developing a number of non-communicable diseases. To date, research seeking to improve health behaviours has focussed on developing novel video games to promote behaviour change. Although positive results have emerged from this research, the success has been limited due to the lack of transferability to more mainstream games and the focus on children and adolescents. However, the gaming community has a number of unique aspects which, in comparison to the development of new video games, have received less attention. Research has found that advertising can have implicit effects on individual's memories which could influence their later decisions. Yet the effect of the exponential growth of in-game advertisements, and brand sponsorship of gaming events and professional gamers, has not been explored in the gaming community. Nor has the possibility of using advertising techniques to encourage positive health behaviours within games or at these events. Research suggests that virtual communities can be effective at disseminating health information, but the efficacy of this needs to be explored utilising known community influencers within the gaming community. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these under-researched areas that have the potential to encourage positive health behaviour among this community.