HelperFriend, a Serious Game for Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Children: Design and Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The use of health games is a promising strategy for educating and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors among children.

Objective

We aimed to describe the design and development of a serious game, called HelperFriend, and evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects in children in a pilot study. HelperFriend is a vicarious experiential video game designed to promote 3 lifestyle behaviors among young children: physical activity, healthy eating, and socioemotional wellness.

Methods

Participants aged 8 to 11 years were recruited from an elementary school and randomized to receive a healthy lifestyle behavior educational talk (control) or play six 30-minute sessions with HelperFriend (intervention). Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0

SUBMITTER: Espinosa-Curiel IE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9123542 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature