The Smartphone-Assisted Intervention Improved Perception of Nutritional Status among Middle School Students

Yan-Hui Shen, Zheng Liu, Wen-Hao Li, Shuang Zhou, Jin-Hui Xu, Chu Jiang and Hai-Jun Wang
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Yan-Hui Shen: Department of School Health, Beijing Haidian District Center for Diseases Prevention and Control, Beijing 100095, China
Zheng Liu: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Wen-Hao Li: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Shuang Zhou: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Jin-Hui Xu: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
Chu Jiang: Department of School Health, Beijing Haidian District Center for Diseases Prevention and Control, Beijing 100095, China
Hai-Jun Wang: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: Misperception of nutritional status is common and hinders the progress of childhood obesity prevention. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a smartphone-assisted intervention to improve student and parental perception of students’ nutritional status (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese). We conducted a parallel-group controlled trial with a non-randomized design in three junior middle schools of Beijing, China in 2019. One school was allocated to the intervention group and two schools to the control group. A total of 573 students (aged 13.1 ± 0.4 years) participated in the trial. The 3-month intervention included three components: health education sessions for students and parents, regular monitoring of students’ weight, and the provision of feedback via a smartphone application. Schools in the control group continued their usual practice. Primary outcomes included the student and parental accurate perception of students’ nutritional status. The percentage of students’ accurate perception of their own nutritional status in the intervention group increased from 49.0% to 59.2% from baseline to three months, whereas it decreased from 64.1% to 58.1% in the control group; the adjusted odds ratio (OR) between the two groups was 1.71 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13, 2.59). The intervention did not significantly improve parental perception of students’ nutritional status ( p > 0.05). The study findings provided a brief approach for improving perception of nutritional status among middle school students.

Keywords: student; perception; nutritional status; intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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