Technology-based intervention for healthy lifestyle promotion in Italian adolescence.

Introduction. Healthy lifestyle promotion programs are essential to prevent metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Adolescents could represent the ideal target population especially using serious web games. Objective. To test the improvement of knowledge about healthy nutrition in adolescents and to analyze participants’ enjoyment in playing the web game “Gustavo in Gnam’s Planet” in comparison with a leisure web game. Subjects and Methods. Sixty-five adolescents were engaged in three supervised group sessions. Measures about healthy food knowledge and games’ enjoyment were collected during the three stages of assessment. Results. After playing Gustavo in Gnam’s Planet, participants significantly improved their knowledge on a healthy diet, compared to the recreational web games; whereas the level of fun experienced while playing the recreational and the educational games was not significantly different. Conclusions. Gustavo in Gnam’s Planet is an important promising tool, with entertainment property, to promote a healthy lifestyle in Italian adolescents.

A school educational intervention based on a serious game to promote a healthy lifestyle

Background: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a basic aspect of well-being. Since public health surveillance systems underlie high prevalence of obesity and diet-related ill health, efforts to provide effective intervention to prevent these conditions are of primary importance. The present study aims to test and validate a school intervention based on a serious game (SG) directed to empower a healthy lifestyle in children, actively involving their parents and teachers. Methods: A quantitative, pre/post-test study design assessed effects of a healthy lifestyle intervention on healthy food knowledge, food consumption frequency and level of interest. Participants were 79 children attending primary school and lower secondary school in the Chieti-Pescara urban and rural areas of Italy. Measures were collected during two supervised steps of assessment (T1 and T2). Results: Sixty-seven children completed the intervention. After playing the SG, participants reported higher levels of knowledge on healthy diet. Children also showed significant improvement in healthy eating habits. Moreover, high rates of endorsement about fun, playability, learning perception and goodness of characteristics emerged. Conclusion: This study, targeted children, but directly involving families, shows the effectiveness of a school educational intervention based on a SG, an innovative tool with potential benefits for preventive purposes, despite the short term of intervention.  Issues related to the implementation of a method for prevention tailored for children are discussed