The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Interventions on Smoking, Nutrition, Alcohol, Physical Activity and/or Obesity Risk Factors: A Systematic Review

Peter Tatnell, Prince Atorkey and Flora Tzelepis ()
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Peter Tatnell: School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Prince Atorkey: School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
Flora Tzelepis: School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: To our knowledge, no systematic reviews have examined the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) interventions across all smoking, nutrition, alcohol, physical activity, and/or obesity (SNAPO) risk factors. This systematic review assessed the effectiveness of VR interventions on reducing SNAPO risks compared to control groups or other interventions. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, PsycINFO, and CENTRAL were searched to identify eligible studies published to 7 October 2021. Two reviewers independently completed screening, data extraction and quality assessment. Twenty-six studies were included, five on smoking, twelve on physical activity (PA), six on obesity, one on PA and obesity, one on obesity and nutrition, and one on obesity, nutrition and PA. VR was effective for smoking cessation in three studies and for smoking reduction in four studies. Seven studies had significantly higher PA in the VR group, and one study found significantly higher PA in a comparator group. Two studies showed VR was more effective at reducing BMI or weight than comparators. Three multiple health risks studies showed mixed results. The remaining studies found no significant difference between VR and control/comparators. VR appears promising for the treatment of smoking, nutrition, PA, and obesity risks; however, further randomised trials are needed.

Keywords: virtual reality; augmented reality; avatar; smoking; nutrition; alcohol; physical activity; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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