A systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis of eHealth and mHealth interventions for improving lifestyle behaviours
Open accessAbstract
The aim of this meta-meta-analysis was to systematically review randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence examining the effectiveness of e- and m-Health interventions designed to improve physical activity, sedentary behaviour, healthy eating and sleep. Nine electronic databases were searched for eligible studies published from inception to 1 June 2023. Systematic reviews with meta-analyses of RCTs that evaluate e- and m-Health interventions designed to improve physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep and healthy eating in any adult population were included. Forty-seven meta-analyses were included, comprising of 507 RCTs and 206,873 participants. Interventions involved mobile apps, web-based and SMS interventions, with 14 focused on physical activity, 3 for diet, 4 for sleep and 26 evaluating multiple behaviours. Meta-meta-analyses showed that e- and m-Health interventions resulted in improvements in steps/day (mean difference, MD = 1329 [95% CI = 593.9, 2065.7] steps/day), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MD = 55.1 [95% CI = 13.8, 96.4] min/week), total physical activity (MD = 44.8 [95% CI = 21.6, 67.9] min/week), sedentary behaviour (MD = −426.3 [95% CI = −850.2, −2.3] min/week), fruit and vegetable consumption (MD = 0.57 [95% CI = 0.11, 1.02] servings/day), energy intake (MD = −102.9 kcals/day), saturated fat consumption (MD = −5.5 grams/day), and bodyweight (MD = −1.89 [95% CI = −2.42, −1.36] kg). Analyses based on standardised mean differences (SMD) showed improvements in sleep quality (SMD = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.40, 0.72) and insomnia severity (SMD = −0.90, 95% CI = −1.14, −0.65). Most subgroup analyses were not significant, suggesting that a variety of e- and m-Health interventions are effective across diverse age and health populations. These interventions offer scalable and accessible approaches to help individuals adopt and sustain healthier behaviours, with implications for broader public health and healthcare challenges.
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Cites
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- Authors
- Singh, B., Ahmed, M., Staiano, A. E., Gough, C., Petersen, J., Vandelanotte, C., Kracht, C., Huong, C., Yin, Z., Vasiloglou, M. F., Pan, C.-C., Short, C. E., Mclaughlin, M., von Klinggraeff, L., Pfledderer, C. D., Moran, L. J., Button, A. M., & Maher, C. A.
- Affiliations
- University of South Australia (AU)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center (US)
- Flinders University (AU)
- Central Queensland University (AU)
- The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
- Nestlé (Switzerland) (CH)
- University of Bremen (DE)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- The Kids Research Institute Australia (AU)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US)
- Monash University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Singh, Ben
- ORCID
- Singh, Ben
- Ahmed, Mavra
- Staiano, Amanda E.
- Gough, Claire
- Petersen, Jasmine
- Vandelanotte, Corneel
- Kracht, Chelsea
- Huong, Christopher
- Yin, Zenong
- Vasiloglou, Maria F.
- Pan, Chen-Chia
- Short, Camille E.
- Mclaughlin, Matthew
- von Klinggraeff, Lauren
- Pfledderer, Christopher D.
- Moran, Lisa J.
- Button, Alyssa M.
- Maher, Carol A.
- Venue
- npj Digital Medicine
- Published
- 2024-07-05
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 179-179
- ISSN
- 2398-6352 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11226451
- OpenAlex
- W4400349581
- Cited by
- 115
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 63 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 9.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- npj Digital Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PUBLISSO (German National Library of Medicine) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Civil War Book Review (submittedVersion)
- UniSA Research Outputs Repository (University of South Australia) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship
- Société des Produits Nestlé SA
- Leibniz ScienceCampus Bremen Digital Public Health
- Victoria Cancer Agency Mid-Career Fellowship
- Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course
- Veski Fellowship
- Medical Research Future Fund Emerging Leader Grant
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- digital health interventions, mobile health intervention, mobile health apps, lifestyle modification, physical activity, sedentary behavior, healthy eating, sleep quality, insomnia, fruit and vegetable intake, energy intake, body weight, online intervention, text messaging intervention, umbrella review, meta-meta-analysis, adults
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