Study on the Effect of a Gamified Health Education Programme on Primary School Children

This randomised study evaluates the effectiveness of Health Education through a Gamified Health Programme on diet, sedentary behaviour and daily physical activity in primary school children.

The prevalence of childhood obesity is high, being a serious health problem in our country, where 4 out of ten boys and girls are overweight. Among the risk factors associated with obesity, the most prominent continue to be: lack of physical activity, those related to eating habits and excess time in front of screens. Given that obesity is considered one of the most serious epidemics of the 21st century and that, if it is not stopped in childhood, it can cause serious health problems in adulthood, it is very important to work on this stage to reduce it. In this evolutionary stage, children spend a lot of time in schools; Involving their teachers and teachers is important, but it is still necessary to do it with families as well. In this field, in that of fathers, mothers and/or guardians, the data shows parental weakness in aspects related to Health Education, such as those shown by the ALADINO 2019 study, where they point out that 7 out of 10 schoolchildren with excess weight are perceived by their parents as within a normal weight. Our Health Education Program aims to ensure that the main actors (children) are accompanied and guided by their families and their teachers in the implementation of a series of activities associated with the achievement or improvement of daily habits. related to the previously indicated risk factors. The Health Program, lasting 6 months, consists of daily, weekly or fortnightly activities. All of them interrelated and connected under the common objective of initiating or consolidating the aforementioned habits, in such a way that they improve the values of overweight in our sample. We try to involve the child through gamification, through a story embodied in an interface that makes them feel involved. The achievement and fulfillment of each entrusted task will mean a series of achievements that will motivate the participants to continue accepting challenges.