Impact of A Mobile Game on Pediatric Nutrition and Physical Activity

Summary

Overweight and obesity in children is on the rise globally and is rapidly growing in urban India. Studies have revealed that obesity is on the rise among children in India with many of them suffering from the problem even before they reach adolescence.

As many as 30 million Indians are overweight, and obesity continues to rise. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) found that 20% of school children are overweight. NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India. The findings from the survey indicate that the prevalence of obesity is increasing in India along with the epidemic proportions worldwide especially in developed countries.

Overweight or obesity is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, various types of cancers in women like breast cancer and uterine cancer, menstrual disorder and infertility and many more diseases.

To decrease prevalence you have to decrease incidence. More and more young people are at risk of developing diseases like diabetes and if the number of children living with these diseases has to come down, focus has to be on addressing the risk factors and moving the population to a healthier lifestyle through health education/ communication and motivation. To design appropriate interventions for behaviour formation and change, we need to learn more about the underlying factors affecting these unhealthy behaviours.

This study was conducted by the Center for Communication and Change - India, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, and FriendsLearn (California).

Study Purpose

The specific aim of this research study is to assess the awareness levels among urban, Indian children, with respect to diet and lifestyle behaviours, while also evaluating the influence of a digital health education intervention - fooya!™ among school-age children in India. Specifically, the study objectives will be:

1. Quantify the effectiveness of a digital health education intervention- fooya (an application) on health awareness around eating right and physical activity
2. Find out the current diet and physical activity among urban, children in India and the factors that affect them
3. Assess the extent of their awareness about eating right and physical activity

Conditions

• Pediatric Nutrition

Interventions

OTHER

Fooya mobile game

An application that incorporates the science and technology of immersive gaming, neuropsychology and cognitive behavior therapy in a mobile health game to target early childhood nutrition literacy and health promotion in a fun and exciting way.

OTHER

Uno board game

A popular board game which is not a mobile app.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Johns Hopkins University

  collaborator OTHER

• Carnegie Mellon University

  collaborator OTHER

• Hofstra University

  collaborator OTHER

• FriendsLearn Inc.

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• The Mithra Trust

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Mind in Motion

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Seethapathy Clinic & Hospital

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Center for Communication and Change India

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

10 Years

Max Age

11 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-06-14

Primary Completion

2016-12-09

Completion

2016-12-09