SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2025
Lifestyle eHealth and mHealth Interventions for Children and Adolescents: Systematic Umbrella Review and Meta-Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Digital Interventions Targeting Parents to Improve Early Childhood Movement, Nutrition, and Sleep Behaviors: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Digital Tools' Effectiveness on Physical Activity Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: Umbrella Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Pooled it
- Childhood Obesity: A Multisystem Challenge Linking Hypertension, NAFLD, and Sleep Apnea.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- A Methodological Framework for Aggregating Branded Food Composition Data in mHealth Nutrition Databases: A Case Presentation.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The relationship between digital health literacy and problematic mobile social media use among adolescents: the chain mediating role of physical activity and social-emotional competence.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Impact of an 8-Week Family-Focused E-Health Lifestyle Program for Adolescents: A Retrospective, Real-World Evaluation.Nutrients · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundeHealth and mobile health (mHealth) interventions are promising in promoting healthy behaviors among children and adolescents.
objectiveThis systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of eHealth and mHealth interventions in promoting healthy behaviors among children and adolescents.
methodsNine databases were searched for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of eHealth and mHealth interventions targeting physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, and dietary outcomes in children and adolescents aged below 18 years. Screening, data extraction, and all assessments were completed by 2 reviewers. Study quality was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews-2) checklist, and meta-analyses were conducted to combine effect sizes using random effects models. Subgroup analyses examined participant and intervention characteristics.
resultsA total of 25 systematic reviews comprising 440 randomized controlled trials and 133,501 participants, mostly involving healthy children and adolescents (n=18, 72%) or those who were overweight or with obesity (n=4, 16%), were included. Interventions mostly included active video games or serious games (n=8, 32%), various mHealth interventions (n=6, 24%), various eHealth interventions (n=5, 20%), combined eHealth and mHealth interventions (n=4, 16%), wearables (n=1, 4%), and computer-based interventions (n=1, 4%). Most studies (n=18, 72%) had critically low AMSTAR-2 scores. Meta-analyses based on standardized mean difference (SMD) showed significant effects (all P<.05) for moderate to vigorous physical activity (SMD 0.18, 95% CI 0.09-0.27), total physical activity (SMD 0.24, 95% CI 0.13-0.35), fat intake (SMD 0.10, 95% CI 0.02-0.18), fruit and vegetable intake (SMD 0.11, 95% CI 0.00-0.22), BMI (SMD 0.19, 95% CI 0.11-0.27), and body weight (SMD 0.15, 95% CI 0.01-0.30). No effects were found for sedentary behavior (SMD 0.12, 95% CI -0.11 to 0.35) or sleep (SMD 0.27, 95% CI -0.09 to 0.63). Shorter interventions (lasting <8 weeks) had a greater effect on moderate to vigorous physical activity than longer interventions (lasting ≥8 weeks), while longer interventions (lasting ≥12 weeks) had a greater effect on BMI compared with shorter interventions.
conclusionseHealth and mHealth interventions offer modest but meaningful improvements in physical activity, diet, and weight management in children and adolescents, with important implications for integrating digital tools into health promotion strategies.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42024537019; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024537019.
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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.