Impact of A Mobile Game on Pediatric Nutrition and Physical Activity

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