The Role of Serious Video Games in the Treatment of Disordered Eating Behaviors: Systematic Review
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Background: Eating disorders and other forms of disordered eating cause significant complications and comorbidities in patients. However, full remission with current standard treatment remains low. Challenges to treatment include underdiagnosis and high dropout rates, as well as difficulties in addressing underlying emotion dysregulation, poor impulse control, and personality traits. Serious video games (SVGs), which have the advantages of being highly engaging and accessible, may be potential tools for delivering various forms of treatment in addressing the underlying psychopathology of disordered eating. Objective: This review aims to provide an overview of the possible mechanisms by which SVGs may affect the clinical course of disordered eating, while evaluating the outcomes of studies that have assessed the role of SVGs in the treatment of disordered eating. Methods: A systematic search was performed on PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase, using keywords related to SVGs, disordered eating, and eating disorders. A narrative synthesis was subsequently carried out. Results: In total, 2151 papers were identified, of which 11 (0.51%) were included. Of these 11 studies, 10 (91%) were randomized controlled trials, and 1 (9%) was a quasi-experimental study. The types of SVG interventions varied across the studies and targeted different mechanisms of disordered eating, ranging from addressing problem-solving and emotion regulation skills to neurocognitive training for inhibitory control. Most (10/11, 91%) of the studies showed some benefit of the SVGs in improving certain physical, behavioral, or psychological outcomes related to disordered eating. Some (4/11, 36%) of the studies also showed encouraging evidence of the retention of these benefits at follow-up. Conclusions: The studies included in this review provide collective evidence to suggest the various roles SVGs can play in plugging potential gaps in conventional therapy. Nonetheless, challenges exist in designing these games to prevent potential pitfalls, such as excessive stress arising from the SVGs themselves or potential gaming addiction. Further studies will also be required to assess the long-term benefits of SVGs as well as explore their potential preventive, and not just curative, effects on disordered eating.
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A systematic review of serious video games addressing eating disorders found that 10 of 11 included papers reported improvements in certain physical, behavioral, or psychological outcomes.
“For example, a systematic review of SVGs addressing eating disorders (which had diverse skill targets such as problem solving, inhibitory control, and emotion regulation) found that 10 of 11 included papers reported improvements in certain physical, behavioral, or psychological outcomes [59].”
From Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [59]
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The use of serious games for psychological education and training: a systematic review
Facchino, A. P., Marchetti, D., Colasanti, M., Fontanesi, L., & Verrocchio, M. C. (2025) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2025.1511729 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Anjum, R., Nodi, N. H., Das, P. R., Roknuzzaman, A. S. M., Sarker, R., & Islam, M. R. (2024) · Health Science Reports · doi:10.1002/hsr2.70043 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Designing and evaluating Reto Global, a serious video game for supporting global warming awareness
Barcena-Vazquez, J., Caro, K., Bermudez, K., & Zatarain-Aceves, H. (2023) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103080 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Positive and Negative Aspects of Digital Games from the Perspective of Adolescents
KESKİN, A. D., & Aral, N. (2022) · Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi · doi:10.17066/tpdrd.12241172 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Arrom-Llabrés, M., Mendoza-Medialdea, M. T., & Gutiérrez-Maldonado, J. (2025) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app15063334 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D. N., Mejldal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E. N., & Nielsen, A. S. (2024) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-024-00985-2 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Maze‐Out: A Serious Game to Enhance Treatment for Eating Disorders. A Randomized Controlled Trial
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D. N., Mejldal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Støving, R. K., & Nielsen, A. S. (2025) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.24458 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults
Nagata, J. M., Nayak, S., Choi, W., Potes, C., Heuer, A., Memon, Z., Talebloo, J., Li, E. J., Bao, K., Helmer, C. K., et al. (2026) · Current Pediatrics Reports · doi:10.1007/s40124-026-00376-y · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“For example, a systematic review of SVGs addressing eating disorders (which had diverse skill targets such as problem solving, inhibitory control, and emotion regulation) found that 10 of 11 included papers reported improvements in certain physical, behavioral, or psychological outcomes [59].”
Positive and Negative Aspects of Digital Games from the Perspective of Adolescents
KESKİN, A. D., & Aral, N. (2022) · Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Dergisi · doi:10.17066/tpdrd.1224117
Branley-Bell, D., Murphy-Morgan, C. N., & Malowaniec, P. D. (2025) · CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA) · doi:10.1145/3706599.3719943
An Architecture for Interactive Storytelling in the Domain of Care Training
Mislimi, H., Szilas, N., Serugendo, G. D. M., Masi, A. D., & Ehrler, F. (2025) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-12408-1_2
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D., Mejdal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E., & Søgaard Nielsen, A. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26687474
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D., Mejdal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E., & Søgaard Nielsen, A. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25329812
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D., Mejdal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E., & Søgaard Nielsen, A. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26687480
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D., Mejdal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E., & Søgaard Nielsen, A. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25329735
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D., Mejdal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E., & Søgaard Nielsen, A. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26687471
Guala, M. M., Bikic, A., Bul, K., Clinton, D., Mejdal, A., Nielsen, H. N., Stenager, E., & Søgaard Nielsen, A. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26687477
Pennisi, G. (2025) · Perspectives in pragmatics, psychology & philosophy · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-13214-7_6
Pérez-Alvarez, F., Rodríguez, S. M., Gallart, C. T., Robusté, O. M., Baus-Rosset, J., & Larrea-Barreiro, L. (2026) · Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science · doi:10.4236/jbbs.2026.162003
Nielsen, H. N., Guala, M. M., & Nielsen, A. S. (2026) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-026-01577-y
User preferences for game design elements in digital mental health interventions
Hu, S., Schmidt-Kraepelin, M., Krohmann, S., Thiebes, S., & Sunyaev, A. (2026) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2026.2736084
- Authors
- Tang, W. S. W., Ng, T. J. Y., Wong, J. Z. A., & Ho, C. S. H.
- Affiliations
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Ho, Cyrus S H
- Venue
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2022-08-29
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- e39527
- ISSN
- 1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9468918
- OpenAlex
- W4288764013
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 87
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 0.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- disordered eating, eating disorders, digital interventions, emotion regulation, inhibitory control, neurocognitive training, problem-solving skills, treatment retention, gaming addiction, prevention
- MeSH terms
- Feeding and Eating Disorders, Humans, Problem Solving, Self Care, Comorbidity, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Video Games
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