Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 23:13:1584595.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1584595. eCollection 2025.

Digital interventions for weight control to prevent obesity in adolescents: a systematic review

Vincenzo De Luca  1 , Michele Virgolesi  1 , Claudia Vetrani  2   3 , Sara Aprano  3   4 , Federica Cantelli  5 , Annamaria Di Martino  5 , Lorenzo Mercurio  1 , Guido Iaccarino  5 , Francesco Isgrò  4   6 , Pasquale Arpaia  4   6 , Annamaria Colao  3   5 , Maddalena Illario  1   4
Affiliations

Digital interventions for weight control to prevent obesity in adolescents: a systematic review

Vincenzo De Luca et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a common, serious, and costly chronic disease of adults and children that poses serious long-term health risks. Recent global estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the number of adolescents living with overweight or obesity is now increasing in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. Health interventions using information technology (IT), especially diet and activity tracking, can lead to significant reductions in weight status.

Objective: This systematic review aimed to map IT-supported interventions designed to prevent obesity in adolescents, promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist was used. A search of the electronic databases Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE) was conducted using search terms in various combinations appropriate to the research objective. The Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) quality assessment tool was used to assess quality.

Results: A total of 21 English language studies were eligible for inclusion. The systematic review synthesized information on weight control IT-supported intervention trials to prevent obesity, their domains of intervention, implementation setting, digital tool adopted, and the outcomes assessed.

Conclusion: The interventions included in the present study mainly concern nutritional aspects and physical activity, but motivational and psychological support also play a fundamental role in their success.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024412913, identifier [CRD42024412913].

Keywords: adolescents; digital health; mHealth; nutrition; obesity prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the PRISMA study selection procedure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organisation . Obesity and overweight (2024). Available online at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight (Accessed on February 27, 2025).
    1. Italian Superior Institute of Health . WHO European childhood obesity surveillance initiative – COSI (2022). Available online at: https://www.epicentro.iss.it/obesita/cosi-2022 (Accessed on February 27, 2025).
    1. Italian Superior Institute of Health . OKKIO alla SALUTE: i risultati dell’indagine 2019 in Campania (2021). Available online at: https://www.epicentro.iss.it/okkioallasalute/indagine-2019-report-campania (Accessed on February 27, 2025).
    1. World Health Organisation . WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health (2004). Available online at: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA57/A57_R17-en.pdf (Accessed on February 27, 2025).
    1. Vantarakis A, Velissari J, Brouma M. Health4EUKids project and best practices against obesity. Eur J Public Health. (2023) 33:ckad160.329. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckad160.329, PMID: - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources