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Despite the accumulation of scientific evidence supporting the benefits of physical activity, the general population remains insufficiently active and this situation is even worsened for some specific populations such as obese people (Barker et al., 2019). It is therefore becoming urgent to develop interventions that can effectively change individuals' behavior. In this context, “e-health” interventions and gamification appear to be a particularly promising avenue to improve physical activity and reduce attrition rates of current programs. This study protocol aims to present a randomized, two-arm intervention design that will examine the efficacy of a digital intervention based on play and teamwork for an obese sample. Fifty patients will be recruited at the hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, France and randomized into two groups: the experimental group will receive digital supervised sessions of PA in videoconference and a gamification of PA through a mobile app and will be compared to an active control group representing the traditional care program (supervised physical activity three times per week during three months). Informed by the tenets of the social identity approach and built around behavior change techniques, implemented via the principles of gamification, this three-month intervention has the objective to improve physical activity adherence. Objective and self-reported PA, quality of live, physical condition and psychological variables like motivation or perceived discrimination will be assessed before, at the end of the intervention and then at the issue of a 6-month follow up in order to evaluate the long-term effect of the intervention. We make the assumption that the intervention will be efficient by the development of an intrinsic motivation through the process of gamification on the one hand. On the other hand, through the in-group collaboration with other people who share the same stigmatized criteria that will help participants to overcome weight stigmas, acting generally as physical activity barriers. This poster presentation will introduce the conception of the intervention, the experimental design and proposed evaluation of the trial. If the effectiveness of this intervention is confirmed, its implementation in the health circuit could reduce the costs and constraints associated to face-to-face support.

UNSTRUCTURED Not applicable.

BACKGROUND Gamification refers to the use of game elements in nongame contexts. The use of gamification to change behaviors and promote physical activity (PA) is a promising avenue for tackling the global physical inactivity pandemic and the current prevalence of chronic diseases. However, there is no evidence of the effectiveness of gamified interventions with the existence of mixed results in the literature. OBJECTIVE The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of gamified interventions and their health care potential by testing the generalizability and sustainability of their influence on PA and sedentary behavior. METHODS A total of 5 electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched for randomized controlled trials published in English from 2010 to 2020. Eligibility criteria were based on the components of the participants, interventions, comparators, and outcomes framework. Studies were included when they used gamified interventions in daily life with an active or inactive control group and when they assessed a PA or sedentary behavior outcome. We conducted meta-analyses using a random-effects model approach. Sensitivity analyses, influence analyses, and publication bias analyses were performed to examine the robustness of our results. RESULTS The main meta-analysis performed on 16 studies and 2407 participants revealed a small to medium summary effect of gamified interventions on PA behavior (Hedges g=0.42, 95% CI 0.14-0.69). No statistical difference among different subgroups (adults vs adolescents and healthy participants vs adults with chronic diseases) and no interaction effects with moderators such as age, gender, or BMI were found, suggesting good generalizability of gamified interventions to different user populations. The effect was statistically significant when gamified interventions were compared with inactive control groups, such as waiting lists (Hedges g=0.58, 95% CI 0.08-1.07), and active control groups that included a nongamified PA intervention (Hedges g=0.23, 95% CI 0.05-0.41). This suggests that gamified interventions are not only efficient in changing behavior but also more effective compared with other behavioral interventions. The long-term effect (measured with follow-up averaging 14 weeks after the end of the intervention) was weaker, with a very small to small effect (Hedges g=0.15, 95% CI 0.07-0.23). CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis confirms that gamified interventions are promising for promoting PA in various populations. Additional analyses revealed that this effect persists after the follow-up period, suggesting that it is not just a novelty effect caused by the playful nature of gamification, and that gamified products appear effective compared with equivalent nongamified PA interventions. Future rigorous trials are required to confirm these findings.