Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Aug 11, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 11, 2025 - Nov 6, 2025
Date Accepted: Jan 5, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effectiveness of Digital Health Interventions on College Students’ Lifestyle Behaviors: Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
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. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO CRD420251119078; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251119078
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Copyright
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