SynthesisJournal of public health (Oxford, England)2023
Active video games and weight management in overweight children and adolescents-systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of public health (Oxford, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Public health interventions for the prevention and management of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents: a rapid review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Lifestyle eHealth and mHealth Interventions for Children and Adolescents: Systematic Umbrella Review and Meta-Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Active video games for improving health-related physical fitness in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Active Video Gaming and Obesity in Children 6-12 Years Old: A Systematic Review.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- Research progress on the role of mindfulness in intervention for adolescent obesity.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of childhood obesity has been increasing for several decades. Active video games (AVG) may be an effective intervention to help manage this rising health crisis. The aim of this review is to evaluate whether AVG are effective at reducing weight or improving body composition in overweight youths.
methodMedline, Embase, SportDiscus, ASSIA, CINAHL Plus, CENTRAL, CDSR and PsychINFO databases were searched for studies assessing quantitative or qualitative impact of AVG in overweight adolescents published in English. Three authors screened the results using inclusion/exclusion criteria.
resultsA total of 12 studies met the inclusion criteria; 11 reported a significant decrease in at least one weight outcome. Results from seven randomized controlled trials were pooled by meta-analysis, which compared with controls subjects in AVG groups demonstrated greater body mass index (BMI) Z-score reduction (mean difference: -0.09 (-0.12, -0.05) I2 = 34%, P < 0.0001). The mean weight reduction (-2.66 Kg (-5.67, +0.35) I2 = 0%, P = 0.08) and BMI (-2.29 (-4.81, +0.22) I2 = 49%, P = 0.07) were greater in AVG groups but results did not reach statistical significance.
conclusionsBMI Z-score was significantly reduced in the AVG group and the majority of included studies reported significant results in at least one weight outcome, suggesting AVG can be used to reduce weight or improve body composition in overweight youths. Further studies investigating the long-term sustainability of this change in body composition are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.