Bruna Caroline Chaves Garcia, CARINA SOUSA SANTOS, Marina Luiza Baêta Costa et al. · Games for Health Journal ·
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a serious game, NutriGame—Your Food Guide, in communicating the NOVA food classification and healthy eating habits to adolescents. The study involved 65 adolescents of both sexes aged between 10 and 18 years. The intervention group ( n = 38) played the NutriGame for 14 days. They completed a food-related questionnaire that addressed issues of self-perception, self-efficacy, knowledge, and food attitude at three time points: Before (Pre), 14 (Post), and 90 days after NutriGame use (Post-90). The control group received no intervention. Following the use of NutriGame, adolescents reported an increased understanding of healthy eating (Pre 7.05 ± 1.83 points; Post 7.94 ± 1.33 points, P = 0.031) and considered their diet healthier (Pre 6.50 ± 1.64 points; Post 7.16 ± 1.11 points, P = 0.015). As did self-efficacy, the healthy eating knowledge score increased after playing NutriGame (27.82 ± 1.65 to 29.05 ± 1.45, P = 0.0001). There was also an improvement in food attitude (Pre: 20.58 ± 3.19 points; Post: 22.53 ± 3.12 points, P = 0.0009). These modifications resulted in the maintenance of the results 90 days post-intervention. These results…
Michal Krezalek, Clare Martin, David Duce et al. · Studies in health technology and informatics ·
Recognising carbohydrate content of food is an important part of diabetes self-management. This paper introduces an immersive virtual reality (VR) carbohydrate-sorting game as a design exploration aimed at supporting the cognitive skills involved in carbohydrate recognition. The design is informed by a cognitive-behavioural perspective focusing on visual categorisation, spatial estimation, and learning through feedback. An early VR prototype was developed using Unity 3D for Meta Quest 3, incorporating standardised food representations and interactive sorting tasks. Informal formative feedback from five domain experts was used to reflect on interaction flow and clarity of feedback, and to guide early design refinements. At this stage, no learning or behavioural outcomes were assessed. Future work will focus on empirical evaluation with people living with diabetes.
Haeril Haeril, Andi Atssam Mappanyukki, Nur Indah Atifah Anwar et al. · Universal Journal of Public Health ·
This study aims to analyze the effect of Virtual Reality (VR)-based games on the mental health, eating patterns, and body posture of children aged 13–15 years who actively play with gadgets. This study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group and an intervention group. The sample consisted of 66 respondents who were divided proportionally into two groups. The intervention in the form of VR games was given to the intervention group, while the control group did not receive any treatment. The results showed that VR games had a significant effect on improving mental health (p = 0.001) and eating patterns (p = 0.001) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conversely, no significant differences were found in body posture variables in either the intra- group or inter-group analyses (p > 0.05). The conclusion of this study indicates that VR games have the potential to be an effective intervention medium in improving the mental health and eating behavior of children who actively play with gadgets but are not yet effective enough to influence changes in posture. This study recommends the development of VR interventions combined with structured physical…
Konstantinos Salomidis, Olga Malisova, Georgios Styliaras · Informatics ·
Childhood obesity has become a major public health concern worldwide, highlighting the need for innovative educational interventions that promote healthier dietary behaviors from an early age. Virtual reality (VR) serious games have emerged as a promising approach for supporting behavior change through immersive and interactive learning experiences. This paper presents the NutriQuest VR game, an immersive serious VR game designed to improve children’s nutritional decision-making through repeated food-selection tasks based on the Nutri-Score classification system. A total of 33 middle-school students participated in a six-week intervention consisting of six gameplay sessions. Children’s adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed before and after the intervention using the validated KIDMED 2.0 questionnaire, while participants’ in-game performance was recorded throughout the intervention. The results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in children’s adherence to the Mediterranean diet, with mean KIDMED 2.0 scores increasing from 5.67 to 6.55 (p = 0.013, Cohen’s d = 0.459). Participants also showed a significant improvement in their in-game performance between…
Kamije Nkubili, Uwimana Bizhinda, Masudi Mpiranya et al. · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) ·
Virtual reality (VR) technology has shown promise in education settings, enhancing engagement and learning outcomes among diverse populations. This study focuses on its application in child nutrition education within pre-schools in Rwanda, a context where such interventions are underutilized. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving a pilot study followed by a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with both control and experimental groups. Pre- and post-test assessments were conducted to measure learning outcomes, while qualitative data on participants' engagement levels were collected through interviews and observations. VR training significantly increased participant engagement in the educational sessions compared to traditional methods, with an average of 75% higher participation rates observed across all age groups. Post-intervention surveys revealed a notable improvement in nutritional knowledge among children exposed to VR (30% increase) relative to those in control groups. The findings suggest that VR can be effectively utilised as a tool for enhancing child nutrition education, particularly in pre-school settings where traditional methods may struggle to engage young…
Ruobing Wang, Jie Yao, Claudia Shu-Fen Leong et al. · Nutrients ·
Background: Childhood obesity is a growing public-health concern in China and globally, a trend influenced by multiple factors, including poor eating behaviors and insufficient physical activity. While interactive health games have shown promise in improving children’s nutrition education and healthy eating behaviors, few have been tailored for the Chinese context. This study aimed to develop and evaluate Happy Farm, Happy Meal (HFHM), an alternate reality game (ARG) integrated into Chinese elementary students’ daily routines to enhance their nutrition knowledge and improve their eating behaviors. Methods: This pilot study employed a quasi-experimental design with two third-grade classes, which were randomly assigned to the HFHM intervention group (n = 40) or a no-game control group (n = 39). The game design was informed by a pre-intervention survey and interviews with caregivers and teachers, which identified key dietary challenges such as picky eating, slow eating, and food waste. Over a two-week period, the HFHM group engaged in food- and nutrition-focused tasks that were incorporated into their lunchtime routines. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected on nutrition…
SoMi Park, ChaeWeon Chung, Gaeun Kim · Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing ·
PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of health interventions using virtual reality (VR) on improving knowledge, attitudes, and skills; and inducing behavioral change among adolescents. METHODS: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines. We searched Cochrane, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and Korean databases between database inception and April 10, 2021. Based on heterogeneity, a random- or fixed-effects model was used, as appropriate, to calculate effect sizes in terms of the standardized mean difference (SMD) and odds ratio (OR). Studies were selected if they verified the effects of health education using VR on adolescents; there was an appropriate control group; and if the effects of education were reported in terms of changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, or behaviors. RESULTS: This analysis included six studies (n = 1,086). The intervention groups showed greater responses in knowledge and attitudes (SMD = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.12 to 1.02]), skills related to health behavior (SMD = -0.45, 95% CI [-0.71 to -0.19]), and behavioral change after 12 months (OR = 2.36, 95% CI [1.03 to 5.41]).…