Dataset Information

Effectiveness of mobile application on changing weight, healthy eating habits, and quality of life in children and adolescents with obesity: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT:

Background

A technology-based intervention, such as a mobile application, was a growing interest and potentially effective modality for treating obesity. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the OBEST, a new mobile/tablet-based application in reducing weight and encouraging healthy eating behaviors and quality of life in children with obesity. The application could assist healthcare professionals to treat children and adolescents with obesity.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial was conducted in the hospital and school settings in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Seventy-seven children and adolescents with obesity were randomized into two groups; one received standard care combined with the OBEST application, and the other received only standard care. The outcomes were changes in weight, healthy eating behaviors, and quality of life assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) from baseline to six-month follow-up between the two groups.

Results

The results showed that the intervention group reduced more body mass index (BMI) and had a higher number of participants engaging in healthy eating behaviors than the standard care group but did not reach a statistically significant level, except for less frequent consumption of fast food. The participants in the intervention group had 4.5 times higher odds of decreased engaging in fast-food consumption than the standard care group at 6 months follow-up (odds ratio, 4.5 [95% CI, 1.41 to 14.35]). There were no statistically significant changes in PedsQL scores over 6 months in between groups.

Conclusions

The current study was unable to detect a significant effect of the OBEST application as an adjunct tool to the standard treatment on reducing weight in obese children and adolescents. However, the mobile application might help to increase engaging in healthy eating behaviors. Further studies with a larger sample are needed to confirm our findings.

Trial registration

The trial was retrospectively registered at the Thai Clinical Trials Registry (trial registration number: TCTR20200604008, on June 4, 2020).

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-021-02980-x.

SUBMITTER: Likhitweerawong N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8579514 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Abstract Objective Eating behaviors play important roles in the development of obesity. A better knowledge of the psychological aspects of eating behaviors in individuals with and without obesity and their consequences on daily eating and lifestyle habits would be informative. The Three‐Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ)‐R21 assesses the psychometrics of eating behavior. The objectives of the study were to establish which eating habits were or were not associated with TFEQ eating behaviors, and to quantify the extent to which those eating habits mediated the association between TFEQ eating behaviors and obesity risk. Methods Data were obtained from the Gene and Environment Case‐Control Obesity Study from northern France. It included 2237 individuals with obesity and 403 individuals without obesity. Eating behaviors were assessed according to the TFEQ‐R21. Two activity levels (physical activity and television watching) and six eating habits (e.g., plate size, having one serving or at least two servings of the main meal, …) were evaluated. Regression and mediation analyses were performed. Results Higher cognitive restraint, higher uncontrolled eating (UE) and higher emotional eating (EE) were associated with a higher risk of obesity, independently of each other and of age, sex, socio‐economic status and physical activity. Cognitive restraint was negatively associated with having at least two servings, while UE and EE were associated with several obesogenic habits such as eating in front of the television or eating at night. Each of these obesogenic habits mediated between 3% and 20% of the association between UE or EE and obesity. Conclusions Psychological eating behaviors were associated with several lifestyle and eating habits in both individuals with and without obesity. Moreover, some eating habits partially mediated (between 3% and 20%) the association between TFEQ eating behaviors and obesity risk. For clinicians, this study shows that simple, easy‐to‐ask questions on specific daily eating habits can provide essential information to better understand and manage patients with obesity.