IoT-enabled technologies for weight management in children and young people: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is a serious global issue, leading to greater medical spending in obesity-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. There is a need for healthcare services that link health behaviour, such as diet and physical activity, to risk factors and provides better advice and feedback to users, which Internet of Things-enabled technologies could facilitate. Objective: The objective of the systematic review will be to identify available Internet of Things-enabled technologies for weight management of children and young people (users below the age of 18). Also it will aim to understand the use, effectiveness and feasibility of these technologies. Methods: We will search Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Central and the IEEE Xplore Digital Library for studies published after 2010 using a combination of keywords and subject headings related to health activity tracking, youth and Internet of Things. In addition, a Google search to identify grey literature will be conducted. Two authors will independently screen the titles and abstracts identified from the search and accept or reject the studies according to the study inclusion criteria. Any discrepancies will then be discussed and resolved. The quality of the included studies will be assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists. Data from included studies will be extracted into a predesigned form to identify the types of devices or apps, Internet of Things applications and health outcomes related to weight management. Results: A preliminary search on Medline returned 484 results. The full systematic review will be conducted within the next 12 months and the publication of the final review and meta-analysis is expected at the beginning of the year 2020. Conclusions: The effectiveness and feasibility of physical activity trackers and consumer wearables for different patient groups have been well reviewed but there are currently no published reviews that look into these technologies in the wider Internet of Things context. This review aims to address this gap by examining Internet of Things-enabled technologies that are designed for youth weight management, and thus inform further research and clinical studies to reduce childhood obesity.