Adding tailored digital health tools to routine pediatric care was associated with reduced obesity rates at 24 months, with 7.4% of children in the intervention group classified as obese, compared to 12.7% in the counseling-only group, according to a recent study.

The Greenlight Plus randomized clinical trial evaluated a digital health behavior intervention designed to prevent childhood obesity among 900 parent-infant pairs across six U.S. medical centers. The study, published in JAMA, assessed whether adding health literacy–informed, tailored text messaging and a web-based dashboard to pediatric health behavior counseling would affect growth trajectories over the first 24 months of life.

At 24 months, children in the intervention group showed a significantly lower weight-for-length trajectory, with a mean reduction of 0.33 kg/m (95% CI, 0.09-0.57) compared to the counseling-only group. Secondary outcomes included an adjusted mean reduction in weight-for-length z score of −0.19 (95% CI, −0.37 to −0.02) and a BMI z score reduction of −0.19 (95% CI, −0.36 to −0.01) in the intervention group.

Obesity prevalence, defined by CDC criteria, was lower in the intervention group, with 7.4% classified as obese at 24 months versus 12.7% in the counseling-only group (adjusted risk ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.36-0.88). Effects were more pronounced in households with food insecurity, where the intervention was associated with a greater reduction in weight-for-length than in food-secure households.

The study authors reported that adding a digital intervention to pediatric counseling was linked to healthier growth trajectories over 24 months, particularly among populations experiencing food insecurity. The digital intervention, which includes responsive messaging and a web-based dashboard, could be adapted for use in various healthcare settings as part of obesity prevention efforts.

Full disclosures can be found in the published study.