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Obesity Prevention and Control: Digital Health Interventions for Adolescents with Overweight or Obesity

CDC

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Interventions combine self-monitoring and goal setting with digital health to help with weight management among adolescents aged 12-18 years who have overweight or obesity.

Trained moderators, with oversight from healthcare providers, work to increase adolescents’ awareness of healthy dietary or physical activity behaviors that help with weight management and teach them how to use the program’s website, mobile app, or wearable devices. Over a period of at least two months, adolescents record their weight and dietary or physical activity behaviors and track their progress toward set goals.

Results / Accomplishments

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends digital health interventions to assist adolescents with overweight or obesity with weight management.

Evidence shows these interventions lead to small but meaningful weight reductions in adolescents with overweight or obesity.

The systematic review included 11 studies (13 study arms).

Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score decreased by a median of 0.10 (6 studies, 8 study arms).
Percent body fat decreased by 0.49 percentage points (3 studies).
BMI decreased by 0.39 kg/m2 and 0.27 kg/m2 (2 studies).

About this Promising Practice

Primary Contact
The Community Guide
1600 Clifton Rd, NE
MS V25-5
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 498-1827
communityguide@cdc.gov
https://www.thecommunityguide.org/
Topics
Health / Weight Status
Health / Nutrition & Healthy Eating
For more details
Target Audience
Teens