To review eHealth intervention studies for adults and children that targeted behavior
change for physical activity, healthy eating, or both behaviors.
Systematic literature searches were performed using five databases: MEDLINE, PsychInfo,
CINAHL, ERIC, and the Cochrane Library to retrieve articles.
Articles published in scientific journals were included if they evaluated an intervention
for physical activity and/or dietary behaviors, or focused on weight loss, used randomized
or quasi-experimental designs, measured outcomes at baseline and a follow-up period,
and included an intervention where participants interacted with some type of electronic
technology either as the main intervention or an adjunct component. All studies were
published between 2000 and 2005.
Eighty-six publications were initially identified, of which 49 met the inclusion criteria
(13 physical activity publications, 16 dietary behaviors publications, and 20 weight
loss or both physical activity and diet publications), and represented 47 different
studies. Studies were described on multiple dimensions, including sample characteristics,
design, intervention, measures, and results. eHealth interventions were superior to
comparison groups for 21 of 41 (51%) studies (3 physical activity, 7 diet, 11 weight
loss/physical activity and diet). Twenty-four studies had indeterminate results, and
in four studies the comparison conditions outperformed eHealth interventions.
Published studies of eHealth interventions for physical activity and dietary behavior
change are in their infancy. Results indicated mixed findings related to the effectiveness
of eHealth interventions. Interventions that feature interactive technologies need
to be refined and more rigorously evaluated to fully determine their potential as
tools to facilitate health behavior change.