Abstract
Many adolescents have poor diet and physical activity behaviors, which can lead to
the development of noncommunicable diseases in later life. Digital platforms offer
inexpensive means of delivering health interventions, but little is known about their
effectiveness. This systematic review was conducted to synthesize evidence on the
effectiveness of digital interventions to improve diet quality and increase physical
activity in adolescents, to effective intervention components and to assess the cost-effectiveness
of these interventions. Following a systematic search, abstracts were assessed against
inclusion criteria, and data extraction and quality assessment were performed for
included studies. Data were analyzed to identify key features that are associated
with significant improvement in behavior.
A total of 27 studies met inclusion criteria. Most (n = 15) were Web site interventions.
Other delivery methods were text messages, games, multicomponent interventions, emails,
and social media. Significant behavior change was often seen when interventions included
education, goal setting, self-monitoring, and parental involvement. None of the publications
reported cost-effectiveness. Due to heterogeneity of studies, meta-analysis was not
feasible.It is possible to effect significant health behavior change in adolescents
through digital interventions that incorporate education, goal setting, self-monitoring,
and parental involvement. Most of the evidence relates to Web sites and further research
into alternate media is needed, and longer term outcomes should be evaluated. There
is a paucity of data on the cost-effectiveness of digital health interventions, and
future trials should report these data.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 16, 2017
Accepted:
May 18,
2017
Received:
January 5,
2017
Footnotes
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.
