A Systematic Review of Mobile and Web-Enabled Interventions for Childhood Nutrition Education and Unhealthy Habits Prevention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22159/ijoe.2025v14i4.58363Keywords:
childhood nutrition, digital health, mobile health, web-based interventions, nutrition education, unhealthy habits prevention, systematic reviewAbstract
Obesity and fast-food lifestyles in children and adolescents are important public health concerns globally because they are one of the leading causes of noncommunicable diseases in children, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Unhealthy dietary patterns, sedentary behavior, and reduced physical activity contribute significantly to this problem. Mobile and web-based digital health interventions have emerged as scalable approaches to support nutrition education and healthy behavior change among children and adolescents. However, their effectiveness across health outcomes remains understudied. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mobile- and web-based digital interventions in improving nutrition knowledge and awareness, promoting healthy habits, and preventing unhealthy habits among the student community. This systematic review followed the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Searches were performed in PubMed and Scopus databases, supplemented by manual reference checking. Studies published up to November 2025 involving participants aged ≤ 18 years were included. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. A total of 27 randomized controlled trials were included in the review. Most interventions used serious games, mobile applications, web-based platforms, and SMS-based tools. Nutrition knowledge improved in 10 of 11 studies. Dietary behaviors, particularly fruit and vegetable intake and healthy food choices, improved. Physical activity outcomes showed modest effects, mainly through increased overall activity and reduced sedentary behavior, while anthropometric outcomes showed limited short-term change across included studies.
Downloads
References
Bannon, K., & Schwartz, M. B. (2006). Impact of nutrition messages on children’s food choice: Pilot study. Appetite, 46(2), 124–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2005.10.009
Baños, R. M., Cebolla, A., Oliver, E., Alcañiz, M., & Botella, C. (2013). Efficacy and acceptability of an Internet platform to improve the learning of nutritional knowledge in children: The ETIOBE Mates. Health Education Research, 28(2), 234–248. https://doi.org/10.1093/HER/CYS044
Baranowski, T., Baranowski, J., Thompson, D., Buday, R., Jago, R., Griffith, M. J., Islam, N., Nguyen, N., & Watson, K. B. (2011). Video game play, child diet, and physical activity behavior change a randomized clinical trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40(1), 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2010.09.029
Brauer, M., Roth, G. A., Aravkin, A. Y., Zheng, P., Abate, K. H., Abate, Y. H., Abbafati, C., Abbasgholizadeh, R., Abbasi, M. A., Abbasian, M., Abbasifard, M., Abbasi-Kangevari, M., Abd ElHafeez, S., Abd-Elsalam, S., Abdi, P., Abdollahi, M., Abdoun, M., Abdulah, D. M., Abdullahi, A., … Gakidou, E. (2024). Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet, 403(10440), 2162–2203. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00933-4
Brown, J. M., Tahir, S., Franco-Arellano, B., Lesage, A., Hughes, J., Kapralos, B., Lou, W., Vogel, E., Farkouh, M., Tugault-Lafleur, C., & Arcand, J. A. (2025). Efficacy of the Foodbot Factory digital curriculum-based nutrition education intervention in improving children’s nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in elementary school classrooms: Protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 15(1), Article e092426. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJOPEN-2024-092426
Byrne, S., Gay, G., Pollack, J. P., Gonzales, A., Retelny, D., Lee, T., & Wansink, B. (2012). Caring for mobile phone-based virtual pets can influence youth eating behaviors. Journal of Children and Media, 6(1), 83–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2011.633410
Carlin, A., Logue, C., Flynn, J., Murphy, M. H., & Gallagher, A. M. (2021). Development and feasibility of a family-based health behavior intervention using intelligent personal assistants: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR Formative Research, 5(1), Article e17501. https://doi.org/10.2196/17501
Chagas, C. M. D. S., Melo, G. R.-S., Botelho, R. B. A., & Toral, N. (2020). Effects of the Rango Cards game intervention on food consumption, nutritional knowledge and self-efficacy in the adoption of healthy eating practices of high school students: A cluster randomised controlled trial. Public Health Nutrition, 23(13), 2424–2433. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980020000531
Chandler, J., McKenzie, J., Boutron, I., & Welch, V. (Eds.). (2016). Cochrane methods 2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD201601
Cullen, K. W., Watson, K., Baranowski, T., Baranowski, J. H., & Zakeri, I. (2005). Squire’s quest: Intervention changes occurred at lunch and snack meals. Appetite, 45(2), 148–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2005.04.001
de Vlieger, N. M., Sainsbury, L., Smith, S. P., Riley, N., Miller, A., Collins, C. E., & Bucher, T. (2021). Feasibility and acceptability of “VitaVillage”: A serious game for nutrition education. Nutrients, 14(1), Article 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/NU14010189
Fassnacht, D. B., Ali, K., Silva, C., Gonçalves, S., & Machado, P. P. P. (2015). Use of text messaging services to promote health behaviors in children. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 47(1), 75–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2014.08.006
Froome, H. M., Townson, C., Rhodes, S., Franco-Arellano, B., Lesage, A., Savaglio, R., Brown, J. M., Hughes, J., Kapralos, B., & Arcand, J. (2020). The effectiveness of the Foodbot factory mobile serious game on increasing nutrition knowledge in children. Nutrients, 12(11), Article 3413. https://doi.org/10.3390/NU12113413
Gan, F. R., Cunanan, E., & Castro, R. (2019). Effectiveness of healthy foodie nutrition game application as reinforcement intervention to previous standard nutrition education of school-aged children: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies, 34(2), 144–152. https://doi.org/10.15605/JAFES.034.02.04
Goel, A., Reddy, S., & Goel, P. (2024). Causes, consequences, and preventive strategies for childhood obesity: A narrative review. Cureus, 16(7), Article e64985. https://doi.org/10.7759/CUREUS.64985
Haddad, J., Vasiloglou, M. F., Scheidegger-Balmer, F., Fiedler, U., & van der Horst, K. (2023). Home-based cooking intervention with a smartphone app to improve eating behaviors in children aged 7–9 years: A feasibility study. Discover Social Science and Health, 3(1), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/S44155-023-00042-4
Heikkilä, M., Lehtovirta, M., Autio, O., Fogelholm, M., & Valve, R. (2019). The impact of nutrition education intervention with and without a mobile phone application on nutrition knowledge among young endurance athletes. Nutrients, 11(9), Article 2249. https://doi.org/10.3390/NU11092249
Hermans, R. C. J., Van Den Broek, N., Nederkoorn, C., Otten, R., Ruiter, E. L. M., & Johnson-Glenberg, M. C. (2018). Feed the alien! The effects of a nutrition instruction Game on children’s nutritional knowledge and food intake. Games for Health Journal, 7(3), 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1089/G4H.2017.0055
Higgins, J. P. T., Eldridge, S., & Li, T. (2019). Including variants on randomized trials. In J. P. T. Higgins, J. Thomas, J. Chandler, M. Cumpston, T. Li, M. J. Page, V. A. Welch (Eds.), Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions (pp. 569–593). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119536604.ch23
Higgins, J., & Green, S. (Eds.). (2008). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (Cochrane Book Series). A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication.
Jo, Y. S., Bhang, S. Y., Choi, J.-S., Lee, H. K., Lee, S. Y., & Kweon, Y.-S. (2020) [Internet]. Internet, gaming, and smartphone usage patterns of children and adolescents in Korea: A c-CURE clinical cohort study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 9(2), 420–432. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2020.00022
Jones, B. A., Madden, G. J., & Wengreen, H. J. (2014). The FIT Game: Preliminary evaluation of a gamification approach to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in school. Preventive Medicine, 68, 76–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.04.015
Kato-Lin, Y.-C., Kumar, U. B., Sri Prakash, B. S., Prakash, B., Varadan, V., Agnihotri, S., Subramanyam, N., Krishnatray, P., & Padman, R. (2020). Impact of pediatric mobile game play on healthy eating behavior: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(11), Article e15717. https://doi.org/10.2196/15717
Leung, M. M., Mateo, K. F., Dublin, M., Harrison, L., Verdaguer, S., & Wyka, K. (2025). Testing a web-based interactive comic tool to decrease obesity risk among racial and ethnic minority preadolescents: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR Formative Research, 9(1), Article e58460. https://doi.org/10.2196/58460
Mack, I., Reiband, N., Etges, C., Eichhorn, S., Schaeffeler, N., Zurstiege, G., Gawrilow, C., Weimer, K., Peeraully, R., Teufel, M., Blumenstock, G., Giel, K. E., Junne, F., & Zipfel, S. (2020). The kids obesity prevention program: Cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate a serious Game for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(4), Article e15725. https://doi.org/10.2196/15725
Mens, M. M. J., Keijsers, L., Dietvorst, E., Koval, S., Legerstee, J. S., & Hillegers, M. H. J. (2022). Promoting daily well-being in adolescents using mHealth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(11), 2173–2189. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10964-022-01656-8
Nezami, B. T., Ward, D. S., Lytle, L. A., Ennett, S. T., & Tate, D. F. (2018). A mHealth randomized controlled trial to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake in preschool-aged children. Pediatric Obesity, 13(11), 668–676. https://doi.org/10.1111/IJPO.12258
Nyström, C. D., Sandin, S., Henriksson, P., Henriksson, H., Maddison, R., & Löf, M. (2018). A 12-month follow-up of a mobile-based (mHealth) obesity prevention intervention in pre-school children: The MINISTOP randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 18(1), Article 658. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12889-018-5569-4
Nyström, C. D., Sandin, S., Henriksson, P., Henriksson, H., Trolle-Lagerros, Y., Larsson, C., Maddison, R., Ortega, F. B., Pomeroy, J., Ruiz, J. R., Silfvernagel, K., Timpka, T., & Löf, M. (2017). Mobile-based intervention intended to stop obesity in preschool-aged children: The MINISTOP randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(6), 1327–1335. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.116.150995
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., . . . Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJ.N71
Phelps, N. H., Singleton, R. K., Zhou, B., Heap, R. A., Mishra, A., Bennett, J. E., Paciorek, C. J., Lhoste, V. P., Carrillo-Larco, R. M., Stevens, G. A., Rodriguez-Martinez, A., Bixby, H., Bentham, J., Di Cesare, M., Danaei, G., Rayner, A. W., Barradas-Pires, A., Cowan, M. J., Savin, S., … Ezzati, M. (2024). Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults. The Lancet, 403(10431), 1027–1050. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02750-2
Randles, R., & Finnegan, A. (2023). Guidelines for writing a systematic review. Nurse Education Today, 125, Article 105803. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NEDT.2023.105803
Røed, M., Medin, A. C., Vik, F. N., Hillesund, E. R., van Lippevelde, W., Campbell, K., & Øverby, N. C. (2021). Effect of a parent-focused eHealth intervention on children’s fruit, vegetable, and discretionary food intake (Food4toddlers): Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(2), Article e18311. https://doi.org/10.2196/18311
Rosi, A., Dall’Asta, M., Brighenti, F., Del Rio, D., Volta, E., Baroni, I., Nalin, M., Coti Zelati, M., Sanna, A., & Scazzina, F. (2016). The use of new technologies for nutritional education in primary schools: A pilot study. Public Health, 140, 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2016.08.021
Schardt, C., Adams, M. B., Owens, T., Keitz, S., & Fontelo, P. (2007). Utilization of the PICO framework to improve searching PubMed for clinical questions. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 7, 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-7-16
Talens, C., da Quinta, N., Adebayo, F. A., Erkkola, M., Heikkilä, M., Bargiel-Matusiewicz, K., Ziółkowska, N., Rioja, P., Łyś, A. E., Santa Cruz, E. S., & Meinilä, J. (2025). 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, 27, Article e60602. https://doi.org/10.2196/60602
Wengreen, H. J., Joyner, D., Kimball, S. S., Schwartz, S., & Madden, G. J. (2021). A randomized controlled trial evaluating the FIT Game’s efficacy in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Nutrients, 13(8), Article 2646. https://doi.org/10.3390/NU13082646
World Health Organization. (2004). Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241592222
World Health Organization. (2016, November 21-24). Shanghai Declaration on promoting health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion, Shanghai. Retrieved January 2, 2026, from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-NMH-PND-17.5
Yoong, S. L., Grady, A., Wiggers, J. H., Stacey, F. G., Rissel, C., Flood, V., Finch, M., Wyse, R., Sutherland, R., Salajan, D., O’Rourke, R., Lecathelinais, C., Barnes, C., Pond, N., Gillham, K., Green, S., & Wolfenden, L. (2020). Child-level evaluation of a web-based intervention to improve dietary guideline implementation in childcare centers: A cluster-randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 111(4), 854–863. https://doi.org/10.1093/AJCN/NQAA025
Zhu, D., Dordevic, A. L., Gibson, S., & Davidson, Z. E. (2025). The effectiveness of a 10-week family-focused e-health healthy lifestyle program for school-aged children with overweight or obesity: A randomised control trial. BMC Public Health, 25(1), Article 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12889-024-21120-5
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 Alangaram J., R. Ramnath
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.