HelperFriend, a Serious Game for Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Children: Design and Pilot Study

Ismael Edrein Espinosa-Curiel; Edgar Efrén Pozas-Bogarin; Maryleidi Hernández-Arvizu; Maria Elena Navarro-Jiménez; Edwin Emeth Delgado-Pérez; Juan Martínez-Miranda; Humberto Pérez-Espinosa

doi:10.2196/33412

HelperFriend, a Serious Game for Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Children: Design and Pilot Study

JMIR Serious Games. 2022 May 6;10(2):e33412. doi: 10.2196/33412.

Authors

Ismael Edrein Espinosa-Curiel¹, Edgar Efrén Pozas-Bogarin¹, Maryleidi Hernández-Arvizu¹, Maria Elena Navarro-Jiménez¹, Edwin Emeth Delgado-Pérez², Juan Martínez-Miranda¹, Humberto Pérez-Espinosa¹

Affiliations

¹ Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Unidad de Transferencia Tecnológica Tepic, Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.
² Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones en Comportamiento, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

PMID: 35522474
PMCID: PMC9123542
DOI: 10.2196/33412

Abstract

Background: The use of health games is a promising strategy for educating and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors among children.

Objective: We aimed to describe the design and development of a serious game, called HelperFriend, and evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects in children in a pilot study. HelperFriend is a vicarious experiential video game designed to promote 3 lifestyle behaviors among young children: physical activity, healthy eating, and socioemotional wellness.

Methods: Participants aged 8 to 11 years were recruited from an elementary school and randomized to receive a healthy lifestyle behavior educational talk (control) or play six 30-minute sessions with HelperFriend (intervention). Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0) and after the intervention (ie, 4 weeks) (T1). The primary outcome was gain in knowledge. The secondary outcomes were intention to conduct healthy behaviors, dietary intake, and player satisfaction.

Results: Knowledge scores of intervention group participants increased from T0 to T1 for physical activity (t₁₄=2.01, P=.03), healthy eating (t₁₄=3.14, P=.003), and socioemotional wellness (t₁₄=2.75, P=.008). In addition, from T0 to T1, the intervention group improved their intention to perform physical activity (t₁₄=2.82, P=.006), healthy eating (t₁₄=3.44, P=.002), and socioemotional wellness (t₁₄=2.65, P=.009); and there was a reduction in their intake of 13 unhealthy foods. HelperFriend was well received by intervention group.

Conclusions: HelperFriend appears to be feasible and acceptable for young children. In addition, this game seems to be a viable tool to help improve the knowledge, the intention to conduct healthy behaviors, and the dietary intake of children; however, a well-powered randomized controlled trial is needed to prove the efficacy of HelperFriend.

Keywords: children; education and behavior change; healthy eating; healthy lifestyle behaviors; physical activity; serious game; socioemotional wellness.

©Ismael Edrein Espinosa-Curiel, Edgar Efrén Pozas-Bogarin, Maryleidi Hernández-Arvizu, Maria Elena Navarro-Jiménez, Edwin Emeth Delgado-Pérez, Juan Martínez-Miranda, Humberto Pérez-Espinosa. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (https://games.jmir.org), 06.05.2022.