Nutritional Education and Promotion of Healthy Eating Behaviors Among Mexican Children Through Video Games: Design and Pilot Test of FoodRateMaster.
Ismael Edrein Espinosa-CurielEdgar Efrén Pozas-BogarinJorge Luis Lozano-SalasJuan Martínez-MirandaEdwin Emeth Delgado-PérezLizeth Stefania Estrada-ZamarronPublished in: JMIR serious games (2020)
In an initial evaluation, children between 8 and 10 years old indicated an increased level in nutritional knowledge and their self-reported frequency intake of two healthy foods, and a decreased level in their self-reported intake of 10 unhealthy foods after playing FoodRateMaster. Moreover, the participants' parents agreed that FoodRateMaster positively influenced their children's attitudes toward several healthy eating behaviors. These results support that health games such as FoodRateMaster are viable tools to help young children increase their food knowledge and improve dietary behaviors. A follow-up randomized controlled trial will be conducted to assess the medium- and long-term effects of FoodRateMaster.