Effectiveness of Digital Health Interventions on College Students’ Lifestyle Behaviors: Systematic Review (Preprint)

BACKGROUND College students are undergoing the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and lifestyle behaviors—such as physical activity, sedentary behavior, diet, and sleep—substantially influence their long-term health. Digital Health Interventions (DHIs), as an emerging approach, have shown considerable potential to improve college students’ health behaviors. OBJECTIVE This systematic review integrates intervention objectives, modalities, functionalities, and outcomes of DHIs targeting college students’ lifestyle behaviors, and clarifies their applicability and effectiveness in improving these behaviors. METHODS Following PRISMA 2020, we systematically searched Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, ProQuest Central, APA PsycArticles, ERIC, and Academic Search Premier for records published between January 2000 and June 2025, and included 46 English-language original empirical studies meeting PICOS criteria. RESULTS The modalities of DHIs comprised seven categories—mobile applications, web-based platforms, mobile communications, social media, wearable devices, gamification and multimedia, and intelligent technologies—with mobile applications being the most common. Intervention functions were primarily education, guidance, monitoring, and prompting, with generally insufficient interactivity and personalization; DHIs were more effective in improving physical activity and diet, whereas evidence remained limited for reducing sedentary behavior and improving sleep. Overall, approximately 60% of studies reported positive effects, and studies with larger samples and intervention durations of 8–16 weeks were more likely to be effective. CONCLUSIONS DHIs demonstrate good accessibility and feasibility for improving college students’ lifestyle behaviors. Looking ahead, multibehavior integration, functional interactivity, and population-differentiated design should be strengthened to advance interventions toward greater precision, sustainability, and equity. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO CRD420251119078; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251119078