Pourabbasi A, Ahangar AA, Nouriyengejeh S. Obese-friends club: a gamified virtual quasi-experiment for obesity control in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
J Diabetes Metab Disord 2024;
23:721-725. [PMID:
38932888 PMCID:
PMC11196510 DOI:
10.1007/s40200-023-01340-z]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked concerns about weight management because of the changes in population lifestyle. As previous studies suggest, these changes can affect adolescents to a greater degree, especially as schools shut down. Designing a method for weight management that accounts for the specific conditions of the pandemic can help students attend to their physical conditions during the pandemic.
Method
An online gamified peer pressure group on WhatsApp was employed to help 10th-grade boys in a high school in Tehran, Iran. The available sample consisted of 15 main group students and 13 control students. A paired t-test examined the difference between each group's initial and final state as well as the group's final state. Additionally, an ANCOVA test was done to ensure that the observed effect was because of the intervention.
Results
The initial BMI for the intervention group (µ = 30.68, δ = 3.23) and the control group (µ = 29.73, δ = 3.23) were the same (p = 0.468). Two dropouts in the intervention group were found after forty days. A significant difference between the intervention group's steady and final states (p = 0.027) was detected; however, this difference was not significant in the control group (p = 0.634).
Conclusion
Online gamified social groups can play a key role in adolescents' weight management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01340-z.
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