Characteristics of effective Internet-mediated interventions to change lifestyle in people aged 50 and older: A systematic review

Worldwide, the number of people aged 60 years and older steadily grows to a predicted 2 billion in 2050. Online interventions increasingly target lifestyle risk factors to promote healthy aging. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate whether Internet mediated lifestyle interventions can successfully change lifestyle in people aged 50 and older. A PubMed search was conducted resulting in twelve articles, based on ten studies. The studies focused on physical activity, weight loss, nutrition, and diabetes. Nine studies used feasible interventions, with an average small to moderate effect size. The most important result is that there are multiple studies reporting positive lifestyle changes in an older population. On average, complex interventions, whether they present tailored or generic information, and online or offline comparison, are more effective than interventions with only one component. Internet mediated interventions hold great potential in implementing effective lifestyle programs, capable of reaching large populations of older persons at very low costs.

► Internet-mediated lifestyle interventions have huge potential in an older population.
► Complex interventions show better results than simple interventions.
► Standardized documentation on intervention and component use is necessary.
► Intervention related social forums are ineffective when embedded in the current online lifestyle interventions.
► Use of open access social media like Facebook and Twitter should be encouraged.