Zhang Yuqi, Kamsin Amirrudin, Natasha Ahmad Tajuddin Nur Amani, Hasan Siti Idayu
Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Computer System & Technology, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Digit Health. 2025 Apr 17;11:20552076251331794. doi: 10.1177/20552076251331794. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.
Childhood obesity significantly impacts health, making the promotion of healthy behavior (HB) among children crucial to address this issue. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool for encouraging HB in children.
This systematic review aims to evaluate the literature on the application of VR in promoting healthy dietary habits and physical activity (PA) among children.
A systematic search was conducted across Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases in January 2024 according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, focusing on English-language studies published between 2013 and 2023. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions tools. This review is registered at PROSPERO, CRD4202347801.
A total of 25 studies involving participants aged 4-15 years were assessed. Sixteen studies focused on increasing PA through VR interventions, and six studies focused on healthy eating. Most studies utilized nonimmersive ( = 11) or semi-immersive ( = 10) VR technologies. Six theories were employed across the studies, and five design strategies were categorized. While most studies reported improvements in PA ( = 9) and healthy eating ( = 6), the short durations and small sample sizes limited the assessment of long-term impacts.
This review reveals the promising potential of VR as an effective tool to enhance PA and promote healthier eating among children. However, it also highlights the need for further rigorous research to explore the long-term effects of VR interventions on child HB change. These findings provide valuable input into the development of more effective VR interventions that can be applied in child health strategies.
儿童肥胖对健康有重大影响，因此在儿童中推广健康行为对于解决这一问题至关重要。虚拟现实（VR）已成为鼓励儿童养成健康行为的一种有前景的工具。
本系统评价旨在评估关于VR在促进儿童健康饮食习惯和身体活动（PA）方面应用的文献。
根据系统评价和Meta分析的首选报告项目指南，于2024年1月在Web of Science、PubMed和Scopus数据库中进行了系统检索，重点关注2013年至2023年发表的英文研究。使用Cochrane偏倚风险2和非随机干预研究中的偏倚风险工具评估研究质量。本评价已在PROSPERO注册，注册号为CRD4202347801。
共评估了25项涉及4至15岁参与者的研究。16项研究聚焦于通过VR干预增加身体活动，6项研究聚焦于健康饮食。大多数研究采用非沉浸式（n = 11）或半沉浸式（n = 10）VR技术。研究中使用了六种理论，并分类了五种设计策略。虽然大多数研究报告了身体活动（n = 9）和健康饮食（n = 6）方面的改善，但持续时间短和样本量小限制了对长期影响的评估。
本评价揭示了VR作为增强儿童身体活动和促进更健康饮食的有效工具的潜在前景。然而，它也强调需要进一步进行严谨研究，以探索VR干预对儿童健康行为改变的长期影响。这些发现为开发可应用于儿童健康策略的更有效VR干预措施提供了有价值的参考。
