E‐&mHealth interventions targeting nutrition, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and/or obesity among children: A scoping review of systematic reviews and meta‐analyses

Abstract

Summary Childhood obesity is a public health concern. Electronic and mobile health (e‐&mHealth) approaches can facilitate the delivery of interventions for obesity prevention and treatment. Synthesizing reviews of e‐&mHealth interventions to improve weight and weight‐related behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and diet) is useful to characterize the current scope of the literature and identify opportunities for future reviews and studies. Using a scoping review methodology, we aimed to evaluate the breadth and methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta‐analyses of e‐&mHealth interventions targeting weight and weight‐related behaviors in children and adolescents aged <19 years. A systematic search of seven databases was conducted, including reviews published between 2000 and 2019. Review characteristics were extracted, and methodological quality was assessed using the AMSTAR 2 tool. Forty‐five systematic reviews and meta‐analyses were included. All reviews evaluated intervention efficacy (100%), but few assessed other aspects (20% in total) such as cost‐effectiveness. Smartphone applications (47%), text messages (44%), and websites (35%) were the main modalities. Weight (60%), physical activity (51%), and diet (44%) were frequently assessed, unlike sedentary behavior (8%). Most reviews were rated as having critically low or low methodological quality (97%). Reviews that identify the effective active ingredients of interventions and explore metrics beyond efficacy are recommended.

Effectiveness of wearable activity trackers to increase physical activity and improve health: a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

“…Data were extracted by pairs of eight independent reviewers using a data-extraction form (appendix pp 3-16) developed for the Review based on a template used in previous reviews of systematic reviews. 29,30 Extracted data items included the number of original studies in the review, sample size and characteristics (eg, age and population type), setting (eg, clinical setting or workplace), nature of the included interventions, outcomes measured (physical activity, physiological outcomes such as bodyweight and blood pressure, and psychosocial outcomes such as quality of life and social support), and results.…”

Different Approaches to Appraising Systematic Reviews of Digital Interventions for Physical Activity Promotion Using AMSTAR 2 Tool: Cross-Sectional Study

“…This can be achieved by appraising SRs with two critical items only, because critically low confidence ratings based on two critical items would not improve if all 16 items were used for appraisals. Although items 2 and 7 are often not fulfilled in SRs of health interventions [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 12 ], combinations of other two critical items on AMSTAR 2 could be used to quickly identify SRs with critically low ratings (see Table 1 for the list of critical and non-critical items).…”

“…Both items are critical items for deriving the overall confidence ratings (see Table 1 for the list of critical and non-critical items). These two items were often not fulfilled in SRs of health interventions [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 12 ] and they were selected using a fast and frugal decision tree for the critical appraisal of SRs [ 13 ]. Based on Approach 2, all 30 SRs were appraised with all 16 AMSTAR 2 items to derive the confidence ratings and to identify SR strengths and weaknesses.…”

Psychosoziale Maßnahmen zur Sport- und Bewegungsförderung bei Menschen mit Übergewicht: Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und Übersicht zur Forschungslage

“…Außerdem zeigen Studien, dass E-Health bzw. mHealth und insbesondere der Einsatz von Smartphone-Apps und Textnachrichten bei Kindern und Jugendlichen erfolgsversprechend sind [38]. Gleichzeitig ergibt sich hieraus die Forderung für die Forschung, dass die Wirkprozesse einzelner BCTs in spezifischen Studiendesigns besser untersucht werden.…”

“…Außerdem zeigen Studien, dass E-Health bzw. mHealth und insbesondere der Einsatz von Smartphone-Apps und Textnachrichten bei Kindern und Jugendlichen erfolgsversprechend sind 38 .…”