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May 14, 2021ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam)Open Access

Digital interventions had small positive effects on smoking cessation, alcohol reduction, and combined diet/physical activity, but no effectiveness for diet alone; effects were sustained up to 6 months but dissipated by 12 months.

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Why the study?

There was no overall summary and comparison of the effectiveness of different modes of delivery of digital interventions targeting CVD behavioral risks to inform policy.

Do digital interventions improve behavioral and health outcomes related to physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, or diet in nonclinical adult populations?

Comparison

Digital interventions vs any comparator

Design

Systematic review of reviews

Authors

NGNatalie GoldAYAmy YauBRBenjamin P. Rigby

Discussion

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Overview

Supports short-term digital interventions for smoking, alcohol, and combined diet/physical activity; extends evidence on limited durability beyond 6 months.

Key Points

  • Summarize the effectiveness of digital interventions across different delivery modes in improving diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption among nonclinical adult populations.
  • Systematic review of reviews searching MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Reviews, and gray literature for English-language publications from January 1, 2009, to February 25, 2019 (PROSPERO CRD42019126074).
  • Included systematic reviews with narrative syntheses or meta-analyses evaluating digital interventions targeting diet, physical activity, smoking, or alcohol behaviors in adults (≥18 years) from high-income countries.
  • Assessed methodological quality and confidence ratings of included reviews using the AMSTAR-2 tool.
  • Identified 94 reviews (48 with meta-analyses), finding digital interventions were typically superior to no intervention with small effect sizes, while evidence comparing them to face-to-face interventions remained mixed.
  • Small positive effects were observed for smoking cessation, alcohol reduction, and combined diet and physical activity interventions; interventions targeting physical activity alone showed medium effects only when delivered via mobile phones, and diet-only interventions showed no effect.
  • Intervention effects were sustained for up to 6 months post-intervention but dissipated by 12 months, with overall certainty constrained by high attrition, short follow-ups, and critically low AMSTAR-2 ratings.

Structured PICO

Do digital interventions improve behavioral and health outcomes related to physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, or diet in nonclinical adult populations?

P
Population
Adults (≥18 years) in high-income countries, nonclinical populations (some reviews restricted to overweight/obesity or problem drinkers)
I
Intervention
Digital interventions (including mobile apps, SMS text messaging, social media, pedometers, wearables, and interactive computer programs) targeting diet, physical activity, smoking, or alcohol consumption
C
Comparator
No intervention, minimal intervention (e.g., educational materials), or active controls (e.g., face-to-face interventions)
O
Outcome
Behavioral or health outcomes related to diet, physical activity, smoking, or alcohol consumption

Digital interventions provide small, short-term improvements in smoking, alcohol consumption, and combined diet/physical activity behaviors in nonclinical adults, but effects dissipate by 12 months.

Limitations

  • Interventions were heterogeneous
  • Many reviews had critically low AMSTAR-2 ratings
  • Attrition rates were often high
  • Follow-up times were relatively short

Cite This Study

Gold et al. (2021) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7e0541fa78bd2571187149https://doi.org/10.2196/19688
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Effectiveness of Digital Interventions for Reducing Behavioral Risks of Cardiovascular Disease in Nonclinical Adult Populations: Systematic Review of Reviews (Preprint)2020
  2. 2Digital Technology Interventions for Risk Factor Modification in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (Preprint)2020 · 1 citations
  3. 3Digital lifestyle interventions for cardiovascular risk reduction: A systematic review and network meta-analysis2024 · 4 citations
  4. 4Biting into digital solutions: A systematic review and meta-analysis of digital interventions targeting healthy and sustainable eating behavior (Preprint)2025
  5. 5Efficacy of digital interventions on physical activity promotion in individuals with noncommunicable diseases: an overview of systematic reviews2024 · 15 citations