JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children is increasing in Peru. Given the increased use of digital media, there is potential to develop effective digital health interventions to promote healthy eating practices at schools. This study investigates needs of schoolchildren in relation to healthy eating and the potential role of digital media to inform the design of game-based nutritional interventions.

Objective:

To explore schoolchildren’s knowledge about healthy eating, use and preferences of digital media to inform the future development of a serious game to promote healthy eating.

Methods:

A survey was conducted in 17 schools in metropolitan Lima, capital of Peru. The information was collected virtually with specific questions for the schoolchild and their caregiver; during October and November 2021 and following the COVID-19 public health restrictions. Questions on nutritional knowledge, preferences and use of digital media were included. In the descriptive analysis, the percentages of the variables of interest were calculated.

Results:

A total of 3937 validated responses were received from caregivers and schoolchildren. The schoolchildren were aged between 8 and 15 years (55.8% girls). Eighty-three percent of the caregivers were mothers, 56.5% of whom had secondary education. Only 5.2% of schoolchildren’s homes did not have internet access; such access was through WiFi (54.6%) and mobile internet (33.4%). 95.3% of schoolchildren’s homes had a mobile phone; 31.3% had computers. In relation to children’s knowledge on healthy eating, 42.2% of schoolchildren do not know the recommendation to consume at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. 46.7% of schoolchildren do not identify the front-of-package warning (FOPWL) labels and 63.9% did not relate the presence of FOPWL with dietary risk. The majority of schoolchildren (78.7%) prefer to use the mobile phone, only 38% indicated that they prefer the computer. In addition, 47.9% of caregivers consider that the Internet helps in the education of schoolchildren; 82.7% of caregivers give permission for schoolchildren to play games with digital devices; furthermore 38% of caregivers consider that traditional digital games for children are inadequate.

Conclusions:

The results suggest that knowledge about nutrition in Peruvian schoolchildren has limitations. Most schoolchildren have access to the Internet, with the mobile phone being the device of greatest availability and preference. Caregivers’ perspectives on games and schoolchildren greater interest in using digital games provide opportunities for the design and development of serious games to improve schoolchildren’s nutritional knowledge in Peru. Thus, future research is needed to explore the potential of serious games to promote healthy eating that are tailored to the needs and preferences of both schoolchildren and their caregivers in Peru.