Table 1 Characteristics and outcomes of studies evaluating efficacy of children’s nutrition digital health interventions (Objective 1)
| Digital intervention, duration | Study design, participants, timepoints | Outcomes | Quality rating | Dietary intake | BMI/weight | Knowledge | Self-efficacy / SCT | Attitudes/ beliefs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delisle Nystrom 2018 1 [37]; Sweden |
I: MINISTOP app (HE/PA); 6-months; content delivered bi-weekly; contact time not reported C: HE/PA pamphlet | RCT; Parents 4yo children; BL (n = 315), 6-month (n = 315), 12-month (n = 263) |
• Fat mass (FM) [measured] • FV, lollies, SSB intake [Food photos on smartphone] • Composite score - FM, PA, sedentary time, FV, lollies, SSB | Strong | 0 B (SSB, FV, lolly, score) |
0 B (FM) + I (FFM) | |||
| Delisle Nystrom 2017 1 [38]; Sweden | Strong |
+ I (SSB) 0 (FV, lolly) + I (Score) | 0 B (FM) | ||||||
| Grimes 2018 [31]; Australia |
I: DELISH Website (Salt Ed); 5-weeks; content delivered weekly; contact time ~ 23 mins per session C: Nil |
Pre/post; Child (mean 9.2y) & parent; BL (n = 83), 5-weeks (n = 83) |
• Salt knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy [Online Qus] • Salt intake [24 h urine], behaviours [Online Qus] | Moderate |
0 (Salt intake) + (Salt behav) | + | + | 0 | |
| Knowlden 2018 2 [33]; USA |
I: EMPOWER website (SCT-based Obes prev program); 4 weeks; content delivered weekly; contact time ~ 30 mins per session C: Online healthy lifestyle info |
RCT; Mothers 4–6 yo child; BL (n = 57); 4-weeks (n = 51); 8-weeks (n = 50); 1 year (n = 44); 2 years (n = 37) |
• Mother’s self-efficacy [Online Qus] • Child intake: FV; sugar-free beverages [Online Qus] | Moderate |
+ I (FV) + B (SFB) | +/− I (FV env only) | |||
| Knowlden 2016 2 [32]; USA | Moderate |
+ I (FV) + B (SFB) | +/− I (FV env only) | ||||||
| Knowlden 2015 2 [34]; USA | Moderate |
+ I (FV) + B (SFB) | +/− I | ||||||
| Rangelov 2018 [35]; Switzerland |
C: Website only (HE/PA) I1: Website + SMS I2: Website + email 8-weeks; content delivered weekly; contact time not reported | RCT; Children grades 1–2 & parents; BL: (n = 774); 8 weeks (n = 608) | • Child intake [7-day food diary] | Weak |
+ C (F) + C (Sweets) + I1 (V) 0 (all other) | ||||
| De Lepeleere 2017 [29]; Belgium |
I: Website (Health promoting videos); 4-weeks; content delivered weekly; contact time ~ 2 mins per video (22 videos) C: Waitlist control | Quasi-experimental CT; Parents primary school age child; BL (n = 207); 1-month (n = 135); 3-month (n = 128) |
• Parent self-efficacy; Parenting practices [Qus] • Child intake: FV, water, SSB, snacks [FFQ] | Weak | 0 (FV, water, SSB, snacks) | +/− I | +/− I (parent practices high SES only) | ||
| Au 2016 [28]; USA |
I: Website (BF Ed); 1 online lesson; contact time ~ 15–20 min C: 1 x in-person group ed. session |
RCT; Mothers 1-5yo child BL, 2-month, 4-month (n = 590) |
• BF knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy [Qus] • Child, parent BF intake [Qus] | Moderate | + I (BF) | + B | + B | + I | |
| Wilson 2014 [36]; USA |
I: Website (FV); once-off module; contact time predicted ~ 45–60 min C: Nil |
Pre/post; Parents & adolescents(mean 13.3y); BL (n = 47); 1-week (n = 41) | • Parent & adolescent FV intake [Screening Qus] | Weak | + (FV parent, adolescent) | ||||
| Delamater 2013 [30]; USA |
I: FIT-4-Health Website as information source; contact time not reported C: Nil | Pre/post; Families with overweight children 8-12y; BL & 4 weeks (n = 24) |
• Self-efficacy • BMI z-score [measured] • Food intake [Qus] • Healthy lifestyle score (Food intake, PA, sedentary) | Weak |
+/0 (HE, high vs low users) + (Score) | +/0 (high vs low users) | + (high users) | ||
| TOTAL | 11 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | ||||