Effect of a Mobile App for Obese Children on Eating Attitudes, Eating Awareness, and Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy

Official title

The Effect of a Mobile Application Developed for Obese Children on Eating Attitudes, Eating Awareness, and Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy

Overview

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a mobile application developed for obese children on eating attitudes, eating awareness, and healthy eating self-efficacy. The application seeks to support children in developing healthy eating habits and to integrate nursing interventions with digital health technologies in combating obesity. Data will be collected through a researcher-developed Information Form and three validated scales: the Eating Attitude Test, the Eating Awareness Scale, and the Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy Scale, completed by both children and parents.

Detailed description

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a mobile application developed for obese children on their eating attitudes, eating awareness levels, and self-efficacy regarding healthy eating, with the aim of contributing to the integration of nursing interventions with digital health technologies in the fight against obesity. Increasing childhood obesity negatively affects not only physical health but also psychosocial development, necessitating multifaceted and sustainable interventions. In line with nurses' effective roles in health education and behaviour change, the application will be developed to support children in acquiring and maintaining healthy eating habits. Additionally, the integration of digital technologies into nursing care and their effectiveness in reaching families will be evaluated; this study will provide a unique contribution to this area, which is lacking in the literature.

The research data will be collected using the Information Form created by the researcher, the Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy Scale for Children, the Eating Attitude Test for Children, and the Eating Awareness Scale for Children.

A total of 18 questions comprising demographic characteristics of children and parents and their eating habits will be used to collect data for the study. In addition, the Eating Attitude Test, consisting of 26 items, will be used to assess eating behaviour and the risk of possible eating disorders in children aged 8-15 years. the 12-item Eating Awareness Scale to determine the degree to which children aged 8-11 are mindful or automatic while eating, and the 9-item Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy Scale to assess the perceived competence of children aged 8-10 in healthy eating. All forms and scales will be completed by children and parents.

Interventions

• Device Childhood Obesity Mobile Application
  With the support of computer engineers and software experts, the logo, user interface, overall appearance, and control panel will be designed to suit the purpose and subject matter of the mobile application. The mobile application will be designed to be used on both Android and iOS-based smartphones and in environments without internet access. After developing the prototype of the mobile application, its usability will be tested. In this context, the testing process will first be carried out by

Primary outcome measures

• Eating Attitude Test for Children [Time frame: At baseline, 4 weeks after the start of the intervention, and 8 weeks after the start of the intervention]
• Eating Awareness Scale for Children [Time frame: At baseline, 4 weeks after the start of the intervention, and 8 weeks after the start of the intervention]

Secondary outcome measures (2)

• Healthy Eating Self Efficacy Scale for Children [Time frame: At baseline, 4 weeks after the start of the intervention, and 8 weeks after the start of the intervention]
• Body Mass Index [Time frame: At baseline, 4 weeks after the start of the intervention, and 8 weeks after the start of the intervention]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• The child must be between 8 and 10 years old,
• The child must not have any chronic illnesses other than obesity,
• The child must be able to read and write in Turkish,
• The child must be able to use a mobile device,
• The child must not have a visual impairment,
• The parent must be willing to participate in the study,
• The parent must be able to read and write in Turkish,
• The parent or child must have a smartphone.

Exclusion criteria

• If they wish to withdraw from the study at any stage of the research,
• If they do not wish to use the mobile application at any stage of the research.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Double blind

Primary purpose

Supportive care

Study locations

Turkey (Türkiye) · 1 center

• Sivas Cumhuriyet University — Sivas

Publications

• Kocaadam-Bozkurt, B., Köksal, E., & Özalp Ateş, F. S. (2022). Mindful Eating Questionnaire for Children: Validation and reliability in Turkish children. Mindfulness, 13, 1469-1478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01889-5.
• Browne NT. Obesity and Children. Nurs Clin North Am. 2021 Dec;56(4):583-597. doi: 10.1016/j.cnur.2021.07.006. PMID 34749897
• Bozkurt O, Kocaadam-Bozkurt B, Koksal E, Ozalp Ates FS. Children's eating attitudes test (ChEAT): validation and reliability in Turkish children. J Eat Disord. 2023 Aug 31;11(1):93. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00811-1. PMID 37649120
• Kabasakal, E., Arslan, U. E., Üner, S., Konşuk Ünlü, H., Bilir, N., Yardım, M. S., Araz, Ö., Huang, T., & Özcebe, H. (2020). The Turkish validity and reliability study of the Healthy Eating Self-Efficacy Scale for Children. Türkiye Çocuk Hastalıkları Dergisi / Turkish Journal of Pediatric Disease, 14(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.12956/tchd.556078.

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07289425 · SCÜ-HMŞ-NK-01

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗