NCT05025995

The Effect of a Serious Health Game on Children's Eating Behavior

Can Garfield Make Children Eat Healthier? A Cluster-randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Effect of a Serious Health Game on Children's Eating Behavior

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 157 (actual)
• Sponsor: Tilburg University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 7 Years – 13 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Background: Currently the dietary intake patterns of children do not meet the prescribed dietary guidelines. Consequently childhood obesity is one of the most serious health concerns. Therefore, innovative methods need to be developed and tested in order to effectively improve the dietary intake of children. Learning children how to cope with the overwhelming number of unhealthy food cues could be conducted effectively by serious health games. Objective: The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of a serious health computer game on young children's eating behavior and attitudes towards healthy and unhealthy foods. Methods: A cluster-randomized controlled trial with a between-subject design was conducted (N=157; 8-12 years), whereby children played a game that promoted a healthy lifestyle or were in the control condition. Children in the control condition attended regular classes and did not play a game. The game was designed in collaboration with researchers and pilot-tested before conducting the experiment among a group of children repeatedly. After one week of playing, attitudes towards food snacks and actual intake was assessed, whereby children could eat at libitum from fruits or energy-dense snacks.

Conditions

• Eating Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Serious health game	Serious health game

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-04-01
• Primary completion: 2018-06-01
• Completion: 2018-07-01
• First posted: 2021-08-30
• Last updated: 2021-08-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Netherlands