Research
Adherence
Digital dietary interventions specifically lead to greater reductions in body weight, BMI, and fasting blood glucose compared to nondigital dietary interventions.
If you are focusing on diet, using a digital tool (app, wearable) may yield better results for weight loss and blood sugar control than traditional methods like pamphlets or face-to-face counseling alone.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Subgroup analyses showed that digital dietary interventions significantly reduced body weight (MD = −0.66, 95% CI [−1.26, −0.06]), body mass index—BMI (MD = −0.25, 95% CI [−0.43, −0.07]), and fasting blood glucose (MD = −0.31, 95% CI [−0.57, −0.05]) compared to nondigital interventions.
Why this rating
Based on subgroup analysis of the meta-analysis; some estimates originated from a single study.
Source
Digital versus nondigital behavioral interventions on cardiovascular risk reduction: systematic review and meta-analysis
Fentaw Tadese et al. · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · 2025
DOI 10.1093/abm/kaaf043
Meta-analysis · 34 studiesCited 3×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Digital behavioral interventions are as effective as nondigital behavioral interventions for reducing overall cardiovascular risk factors, with no significant difference found across 11 key metrics.Good
- Digital physical activity interventions specifically lead to greater reductions in total cholesterol compared to nondigital physical activity interventions.Moderate
- Combined digital interventions (dietary, physical activity, and smoking cessation) significantly decrease BMI compared to nondigital combined interventions.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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