Evaluation of Orexin-A Salivary Levels and its Correlation with Attention After Non-invasive Brain Stimulation in Female Volleyball Players.

BACKGROUND: The capacity to change attention from one area to another depending on the many environmental circumstances present is a crucial aspect of selective attention and is strictly correlated to reaction time. The cholinergic system of the basal forebrain is crucial for attentive abilities. Several inputs, particularly orexin neurons, whose cell bodies are found in the postero-lateral hypothalamus, can activate the cholinergic system. The aim of this study was to investigate if high frequencies rTMS at dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in highly trained volleyball players can change Orexin-A levels, attention and reaction time. This study was a double-blinded (participant and evaluator) matched-pair experimental design. Twenty right-handed female volleyball players were recruited for the study (age 24.6 ± 2.7 years; height 177.0 ± 5.5 cm; body mass 67.5 ± 6.5 kg; BMI 21.5 ± 1.2). RESULTS: The main finding of this study was that 10 Hz rTMS to the DLPFC seems to increase Orexin-A salivary levels and the percentage of correct answers, while decreasing RT. After rTMS, the athletes show an increase in the percentage of correct answers immediately after the end of stimulation, and also after 15 and 30 min. Moreover, the athletes show decreases in reaction time after the end of stimulation and after 15 and 30 min to the end of stimulation, while no differences were found at the end of stimulation. Finally, the athletes show significant increases in Orexin-A salivary levels after stimulation with a peak after 30' of the end. CONCLUSION: The results of our study seem to indicate that there is a relationship between salivary Orexin-A levels and RT. These results could provide useful tools for modulating sports training; in fact, if confirmed, they could lead coaches to offer their athletes rTMS sessions appropriately integrated with training. In fact, alternating attention is a mental flexibility that enables people to change their point of focus and switch between tasks requiring various levels of cognition.

"Better than my professor?" How to develop artificial intelligence tools for higher education.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are currently designed and tested in many fields to improve humans' ability to make decisions. One of these fields is higher education. For example, AI-based chatbots ("conversational pedagogical agents") could engage in conversations with students in order to provide timely feedback and responses to questions while the learning process is taking place and to collect data to personalize the delivery of course materials. However, many existent tools are able to perform tasks that human professionals (educators, tutors, professors) could perform, just in a timelier manner. While discussing the possible implementation of AI-based tools in our university's educational programs, we reviewed the current literature and identified a number of capabilities that future AI solutions may feature, in order to improve higher education processes, with a focus on distance higher education. Specifically, we suggest that innovative tools could influence the methodologies by which students approach learning; facilitate connections and information attainment beyond course materials; support the communication with the professor; and, draw from motivation theories to foster learning engagement, in a personalized manner. Future research should explore high-level opportunities represented by AI for higher education, including their effects on learning outcomes and the quality of the learning experience as a whole.

Exploring the Interplay between Bone Marrow Stem Cells and Obesity.

Obesity, a complex disorder with rising global prevalence, is a chronic, inflammatory, and multifactorial disease and it is characterized by excessive adipose tissue accumulation and associated comorbidities. Adipose tissue (AT) is an extremely diverse organ. The composition, structure, and functionality of AT are significantly influenced by characteristics specific to everyone, in addition to the variability connected to various tissue types and its location-related heterogeneity. Recent investigation has shed light on the intricate relationship between bone marrow stem cells and obesity, revealing potential mechanisms that contribute to the development and consequences of this condition. Mesenchymal stem cells within the bone marrow, known for their multipotent differentiation capabilities, play a pivotal role in adipogenesis, the process of fat cell formation. In the context of obesity, alterations in the bone marrow microenvironment may influence the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells towards adipocytes, impacting overall fat storage and metabolic balance. Moreover, bone marrow's role as a crucial component of the immune system adds another layer of complexity to the obesity-bone marrow interplay. This narrative review summarizes the current research findings on the connection between bone marrow stem cells and obesity, highlighting the multifaceted roles of bone marrow in adipogenesis and inflammation.

A systematic review of the role of teachers' support in promoting socially shared regulatory strategies for learning.

Interpersonal physiological synchrony and collaboration in educational contexts have been identified as key aspects of the learning environment to foster critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, and shared knowledge construction and learning of students. In addition to this, teachers' support and interaction with students result in a protective factor for students' well-being and academic outcomes. The main aim of this systematic review was to explore if and how teachers' support and relationship with students can affect their use of Socially Shared Regulatory Strategies for Learning (SSRL). Studies were identified in six electronic databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL and ERIC) following PRISMA guidelines. The initial search yielded a total of 110 records. Fifty-nine studies were fully reviewed, and 16 studies met all inclusion criteria and formed the basis for the review. Studies were analyzed and teachers' support strategies to enhance SSRL were identified and recorded. This review identifies a range of teachers' strategies that may foster students' SSRL, such as prompting and moving from one group to another, helping and checking the groups' progress, especially in primary and secondary school; flipped classrooms at university level. The results of this systematic review may inform teachers, educational practitioners, the general public and the design of individualized educational interventions aimed at improving teacher-child relationships, their well-being and academic performance.

The epidemiology and effects of video game addiction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

With the increasing popularity and accessibility of video games, the public concern about their effects - positive and negative - has also increased. In this regard, this systematic review sought to identify and thematically analyze recent studies (in the last five years) and report on video games' epidemiological characteristics and outcomes. A systematic database search was done on ScienceDirect, APA PsycINFO, Emerald, and Scopus databases for articles published from January 1, 2017, to April 1, 2022. The Meta XL software - an add-in for Microsoft Excel - was used to calculate the pooled prevalence level of video game addiction. The database search yielded a total of 693 non-duplicate articles. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 27 articles were selected to be included in the systematic review. Along with this, 12 articles were considered for the final meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence level of gaming addiction was 5.0 % (95 % CI, 2.1-8.8 %). The I2 value was 99.297 with a p-value of 0.000. The factors that accompanied addictive video gaming were psychological, social, and personal. An addictive gaming behavior was characterized by spending an above-average time on gaming, doing most of the gaming online, and gaming activities interfering with sleep patterns. Some predictors of addictive gaming were emotional dependence, social detachment, increased gaming time, preference for playing online than offline, and increased emotional and psychological stress. Engaging in addictive gaming led to adverse outcomes such as lower academic scores, depression, and anxiety, as well as decreased self-esteem, life satisfaction, and social support. From the collected findings it could be concluded that extreme playing of video games can be classified as addictive. Following the identification of risk factors, appropriate corrective or interventional measures should be developed and applied coherently to newer statistical data.

Resilience, Positivity and Social Support as Perceived Stress Predictors among University Students.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have been trying to identify which personal resources can contribute to minimizing the mental health costs in students incurred due to the restrictions that disrupted safety and predictability in their academic lives. The aim of the study was to verify if and how individual factors (resilience and positivity) and socio-environmental factors (social support and nationality) allow prediction of the level of perceived stress. University students (n = 559) from Poland, Serbia, and Italy were surveyed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), the Positivity Scale (PS), and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12). Personal resources-positivity, resilience, and support-were found to be positively interrelated and significantly associated with stress levels. Additionally, gender and nationality differentiated stress levels. A general linear model (GLM) showed that levels of perceived stress are best explained by resilience, positivity, tangible support, and gender. The results obtained can strengthen students' awareness of personal resources and their protective role in maintaining mental health, as well as contribute to the creation of prevention-oriented educational activities. Nationality was not a significant predictor of the level of perceived stress, which highlights the universality of examined predictors among university students from different countries and suggests that interventions aimed at enhancing these resources could benefit students across different cultural contexts.

Acute non invasive brain stimulation improves performances in volleyball players.

OBJECTIVES: The ability to redirect one's attention in response to various environmental situations is a crucial aspect of selective attention in team sports. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in volleyball players can improve Posner test response and cortical excitability. This study had a double-blinded (participant and evaluator) matched-pair experimental design. METHODS: Twenty right-handed female volleyball players were recruited for the study and randomly assigned to either the active rTMS group (n = 10) or the sham stimulation group (n = 10). The stimulation was performed in one session with 10 Hz, 80% of the resting motor threshold (RMT), 5 s of stimulation, and 15 s of rest, for a total of 1,500 pulses. Before and after stimulation, the Posner test and cortical excitability were evaluated. RESULTS: The significant finding of this paper was that 10 Hz rTMS to the DLPFC seemed to improve Posner test response, and also resulted in a significantly decreased RMT and MEP latency of the ipsilateral motor cortex. After stimulation, the active group showed a significant decrease in the percentage of errors in the Posner test. Moreover, active group showed faster RT after rTMS, suggesting that HF stimulation could enhance performance. Additionally, significant differences in RMT emerged in the active rTMS group after stimulation, while no differences were observed in MEP latency and MEP amplitude. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we believe that these results may be of great interest to the scientific community and could have practical implications in the future.

Measuring autonomy support in special needs teachers from a self-determination theory perspective: validation of the Italian version of the learning climate questionnaire.

Introduction: Self-determination construct is a motivation theory used in professional and educational context to foster special needs teachers' development of metacognition, and psychological wellbeing. The Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) is a validate questionnaire used to underly teachers' professional and personal competence, and improving social, emotional and career outcomes. The present paper aims to evaluate the degree of reliability (R1) and the adherence of construct validity to the construct of self-determination (R2) of the Italian adaptation of the LCQ. Methods: A confirmatory factorial analysis was conducted to evaluate the factorial structure of the LCQ in a sample of Italian special needs teachers (N = 953). Teachers was asked to complete an online version of the LCQ. Construct validity was conducted by relating the learning climate with the basic psychological needs satisfaction, measured with PBNSF, and with academic motivation scale, measured with AMS. Results: The analysis showed a good reliability (R1) and construct validity of the Italian adaptation of the questionnaire, with a high internal consistency compared to those obtained in other studies (R2). Discussion: Teachers' autonomy support and teacher-student relation can positively impact the students' psychological factors and enhance students' learning motivation and academic achievement. Findings reveal that higher levels of learning climate could also be a key factor in reducing teachers' negative stress and mental health consequences. Conclusion: This study may facilitate further research about the autonomy-supportive learning climate in educational settings in Italy.

Assessment of Lifestyle, Eating Habits and the Effect of Nutritional Education among Undergraduate Students in Southern Italy.

BACKGROUND: The years spent at university represent a critical period that can influence both the quality of lifestyle and the eating habits of subsequent adulthood, and also, in the long term, the health of the individual. The aim of this study was to investigate the lifestyle of university students living away from home. METHODS: Each subject recruited for the study was given a questionnaire to obtain general information, eating habits and physical activity levels before (T0) and after six month of training seminars (T1). Blood pressure, body composition and questionnaire responses were investigated. RESULTS: The main findings of this study are a significant decrement in blood pressure; an increment in physical activity practice; an increased number of subjects who pay attention to the calorific value of food and also an improvement in BIA parameters. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study demonstrated the challenges that university students face in leading a healthy lifestyle and caring for their nutritional needs, particularly when they are away from their families. No intervention specifically targets young adults, even though much emphasis is placed on the promotion of a healthy lifestyle based on a varied and balanced diet and sufficient exercise. Our study showed that it is possible to improve lifestyle through educational events aimed at making students aware of the health risks deriving from unhealthy lifestyles.

High frequencies (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) increase motor coordination performances in volleyball players.

INTRODUCTION: It is widely demonstrated that high frequency (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has facilitative effects and is therefore capable to inducing changes in motor responses. One of the most investigated areas is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as it plays a special executive attention role in actively preserving access to stimulus representations and objectives in environments with plenty of distraction such as those of team sports. Volleyball is a team sport in which the attention and coordination components are essential for achieving performance. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate if HF rTMS at DLPFC in volleyball players can improve homolateral motor coordination and cortical excitability. RESULTS: This study was a double-blinded (participant and evaluator) matched-pair experimental design. Twenty right-handed female volleyball players were recruited for the study and were randomly assigned either the active rTMS (n = 10) or the sham stimulation group (n = 10). The stimulation was performed in one session with 10 Hz, 80% of the resting motor threshold (RMT) of the right first dorsal interosseous muscle, 5 s of stimulation, and 15 s of rest, for a total of 1500 pulses. Before and after stimulation, the coordination and the cortical excitability were evaluated. The significant finding of this paper was that HF-rTMS of the DLPFC improved performance in terms of the homolateral interlimb coordination, with a significantly decreased in resting motor threshold and MEP latency of the ipsilateral motor cortex. It seem that HF-rTMS could increase coordination performances when the velocity of the execution is higher (120 bpm and 180 bpm). CONCLUSION: Moreover, in active rTMS group significant differences emerged after stimulation in RMT and in MEP latency, while no differences emerged after stimulation in MEP amplitude. In conclusion we believe that these results may be of great interest to the scientific community and may also have practical implications in the future.

Italian Validation of the Online Student Engagement Scale (OSE) in Higher Education.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, entire university courses were moved online. This represented a challenge for universities, who were required to move toward an entirely online learning environment without adequate time to manage the change from traditional courses to online courses. However, beyond the emergency of the pandemic, higher education does increasingly incorporate an online learning element, and such a provision does appear to reflect both the desires of modern-day students and university offerings. For this reason, assessing students' online engagement is fundamental, not least because it has been seen to be related both to students' satisfaction and their academic achievement. A validated measure of student online engagement does not exist in Italy. Therefore, this study aims to assess both the factor structure and the validity of the Online Student Engagement (OSE) Scale in the Italian context. A convenience sample of 299 undergraduate university students completed a series of online questionnaires. The Italian OSE scale presents good psychometric properties and represents a valuable instrument for both practitioners and researchers examining students' engagement in online learning.

Validation of the self-compassion scale in a sample of Italian special needs teacher.

Introduction: Special needs teachers deliver crucial care to their students by showing a particular attitude toward them. However, they usually face stressful situations that negatively impact their capacity to support their students, often reporting higher levels of burnout compared to teachers from mainstream education. Self-compassion has been seen to function as a protective factor against teacher stress, enhancing their resilience and coping abilities. Methods: The current study aimed to evaluate the factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the Self-compassion Scale (SCS) in a sample of Italian special needs teachers (R1). In addition, it was investigated whether the satisfactory internal reliability of the SCS is confirmed (R2). Finally, the validity of the SCS criterion was assessed, assuming that each of its subscales would be related to anxiety, measured with GAD-7, and with resilience, measured with the BRS (R3). A sample of 629 teachers was enrolled in this study and completed an online questionnaire. Results: Overall, the confirmatory factor analysis showed good or acceptable indices of fit to the data supporting the use of SCS to measure self-compassion in Italian special needs teachers. Discussion: The tool could be helpful for future research to start exploring the self-compassion dimension at school as a protective factor that may foster teachers' and, consequently, students' well-being.

The Influence of Individual and Contextual Factors on the Vocational Choices of Adolescents and Their Impact on Well-Being.

Adolescents who have to make decisions regarding their future career or academic path can be greatly influenced by parental expectations and other individual and contextual factors. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of adolescent-parent career congruence on adolescents' well-being and future intention to enroll in a university course. The recruitment of participants took place through a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling. A sample of 142 high school students who are managing their decisions for the future completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed through a path analysis (SEM) with observed variables, and different indices were evaluated to check the model goodness of fit. The data show that congruence with parents' wishes has a significant effect on academic motivation, work hope and mattering, which in turn have a positive and significant effect on both future intentions to undertake university studies and on the participants' occupational well-being. In line with past studies, our results demonstrate correlations between adolescent-parent career congruence in career exploration and decision making, pointing out in particular the influence due to complementary congruence with mothers. Furthermore, our study underscores the important role played by both individual and contextual factors in adolescent well-being and intentions for their future. Finally, implications for the practice of vocational guidance practitioners are discussed.

Revised Protein Sparing Diet in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Effective nutrition therapy is a pressing issue in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management. As such, this research aimed to determine the performance of a revised dietary strategy built on the protein-sparing diet in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus with regard to obtaining a rapid and stable improvement in glucometabolic control, body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism when applying the strategy in just twenty-one days. The revised protein-sparing diet differs from the traditional protein-sparing modified fast (PSMF) because it does not include foods. The daily calorie intake of this diet is exclusively derived from Isolate whey protein in addition to a formulation of Isolate whey protein enriched with essential amino acids in free form, with the addition of lipids such as extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil as a source of medium chain fatty acids, where the latter is taken for only the first four days of the diet, together with the use, for the same duration, of extended-release metformin, as the only antihyperglycemic allowed. Anthropometric measurements, bioimpedance analysis, indirect calorimetry, and blood chemistry assessments were conducted at the beginning of the study, time 0 (T0), and at the end, time 1 (T1), i.e., on the 21st day. The main outcomes of the revised protein-sparing diet after only twenty-one days were a reduction in body weight with the predominant loss of visceral atherogenic abdominal fat and, therefore, a possible contextual reduction in ectopic fat deposits together with a simultaneous reduction in insulin resistance and normalization of insulin levels, maintenance of free fat mass and basal metabolism, restoration of metabolic flexibility, and improvement of the glucometabolic and lipidic parameters. These results demonstrate the promising potential of the revised protein-sparing diet as an "etiologic tool" in the integrated nutritional treatment of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on stress and anxiety in students: A systematic review.

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of 2019 and the Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2022 created restrictions and uncertainties that affected the general population's mental health. One of the affected groups was students. This systematic review summarizes the current literature on the prevalence, outcomes, and interventions for stress and anxiety among university, college, graduate, or postsecondary populations. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and ProQuest, following PRISMA guidelines. Specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and screening was performed to identify the definitive studies. Results: The prevalence of anxiety was relatively high, ranging from 88.9 to 13.63%, and the prevalence of stress ranged from 56 to 28.14%. The predictors of stress and anxiety included young age, gender being female, STEM course, loneliness, low academic level in school, urban lockdown, confinement, having a preexisting disease, having relatives or friends infected with COVID-19, and proximity to a COVID-19 zone. The predictors of stress included gender being female, living with family, living in a household with many people, being confined rather than having the freedom to relocate, proximity to confirmed cases of COVID-19, lack of access to materials on COVID-19, preexisting mental disorders, and lack of knowledge on the preventable nature of COVID-19. The sources of anxiety among the university students identified in the study included academics, postponement of graduation, cancelation or disruption of planned events, inability to achieve goals, and finances. In addition, the students used trauma-focused, forward-focused, task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping strategies. Conclusion: The included studies showed that stress and anxiety increased during the pandemic and the war, with gender and uncertainty playing a critical role. The studies provide insights into the widespread use of problem-focused and task-focused coping strategies despite their impact on increasing stress and anxiety.

COVID-19 related conspiracy beliefs and their relationship with defense strategies, emotions, powerlessness, attitudes, and time perspective.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted individual's life and society, and such an emergency has increased the likelihood of recurring conspiratorial thinking. There is much research on broader conspiratorial thinking and studies on COVID-19-related conspiratorial thinking has been growing worldwide, moreover, the negative consequences of COVID-19 specific conspiratorial beliefs for people's health are clear. However, person-centered research aiming at identify groups of individuals who share patterns of relations between COVID-19 specific conspiratorial beliefs and other psychological features is still scarce. A sample of 1.002 people (18-40 years old, M = 23; SD = 5.19) responded to a questionnaire administered online. The aim was to identify groups of individuals based on their beliefs about COVID-19 conspiracy theories and to compare the groups identified in terms of psychological characteristics associated such as automatic defense mechanisms, coping strategies, powerlessness, emotions, emotional regulation, attitudes toward the COVID-19, social distancing discontent, perceptions of COVID-19 severity and temporal perspective. A k-mean cluster analysis identified the groups of Believers (22.26%), Ambivalent believers (34.3%), and Non-believers (43.21%). The three groups differ particularly in terms of defense mechanisms, and time perspective. Results suggested the need to tailor interventions for individuals believing in COVID-19 conspiratorial theories based on differences in the psychological characteristics among the three groups.

Psychoeducation Reduces Alexithymia and Modulates Anger Expression in a School Setting.

Bullying and violence are relevant issues in school settings and negatively impact students' well-being and mental health. Psychoeducation and anti-bullying programs may prevent violence among students by addressing emotional expression and regulation, alexithymia, and anger. We describe the impact of a psychoeducational intervention delivered to 90 male and 101 female school youths (N = 191), aged 12-14 years old, and aimed to improve their emotional recognition and regulation, as well as to reduce alexithymia in order to prevent aggression and bullying episodes. A psychological assessment has been performed before (T0) and after (T1) the intervention including levels of alexithymia, measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Females have shown higher levels of alexithymia at baseline whereas other characteristics (anger, empathy quotient and emotional regulation) did not differ among sex groups. The psychoeducational program significantly increased the empathy quotient (+10.2%), the emotional regulation reappraisal (+20.3%), and the assertive anger expression (+10.9%); alexithymia significantly decreased after the intervention in all the samples (-14.4%), above all among students scoring ≥61 at TAS-20 (-48.2%). Limitations include a small sample from a single school setting, the lack of a control group without psychoeducation, and an assessment based on self-reported measures. We may conclude that psychoeducation has significantly reduced levels of alexithymia and improved empathy and emotional regulation among adolescents.

The impact of psycho-education on school-children's homophobic attitudes.

Homophobic bullying is a major social issue, especially in the school settings. This may be particularly common in many Western countries but it appears globally. Bullying causes both short and long-term problems hence its prevention must be seen as a relevant and urgent step in educational settings. Psycho-educational programs should be promoted in order to help eliminate school-children's prejudices and bias about gay and lesbian peers, homophobic bullying. 191 school-children (n = 101 females, n = 90 males), aged 12-14 years old, attending a secondary school in Foggia (Italy) were recruited and assessed at baseline (T0) and 2 months (T1) after receiving a systematized, repeated psycho-education aimed to promote their awareness on sexual variations, and reduce homophobic prejudices and stereotypes. They were assessed for their empathy quotients, their knowledge of gender- related stereotypes, homophobic attitudes, anger, emotional regulation, before (T0) and after the intervention (T1) in a standardized manner. The psychoeducational program significantly reduced homophobia levels towards gays (-9.38%) and lesbians (-5.42%,) as well as improved emotional adjustment (+25.9%) and pro-sociality (+3.85%) among school-children (0.0486≤ all p < 0.0001). Also, a statistically significant improvement of empathy (+11.3%) and levels of state anger (+0.35%) has been significantly reported. This study reports on the benefits of a repeated, systematic, prospective psycho-educational intervention conducted in the school-setting leading to an improvement of empathy, pro-sociality, emotional regulation and a reduction of homophobic attitudes and anger among students.

Serious games and eating behaviors: A systematic review of the last 5 years (2018-2022).

Background: Serious game intervention has emerged over the years as a popular strategy for solving the problem of unhealthy eating behavior. This has prompted several scholars to explore its significant impact on eating behaviors, identifying its positive effect on nutritional knowledge and eating behaviors. However, since this research field is yet nascent, an update in knowledge is required to further inform the real-world practice as an alternative intervention for instating healthy eating behavior. Therefore, this current research utilized a systematic review method to reveal the latest state of this concept of a serious game and eating behavior, to identify the position of the literature and shed light on under-researched and emerging areas by recommending future investigations. Method: To achieve the object of this research, four electronic databases- Science Direct, Web of Science (WoS), APA PsyclNFO, and Emerald- were searched using predefined keywords (search string) relating to the review topic. A total of 15,107 results were retrieved from the databases. After title, abstract, and full-text screening, 15 studies were included following inclusion criteria. Key findings: The result of this research demonstrated that various designs of serious games comprise an effective intervention for changing eating behavior in both children and adults and addressed the risks of childhood obesity and overweight. The findings also show that the design of the games is co-designed by different specialists such as a nutritionist, psychologist and developer, among others, as either single or multiple players. The effectiveness of the games was attributed to behavior techniques (BT), cognitive theories (CT), and socio-cognitive theories (SCT) of behavior change technique (BCT), incorporating an element of implicit learning in serious games. Feedback and reward were the most reported influencing strategies and self-reporting the evaluation approach. Conclusion: This research contributed significantly to the body of knowledge in the field of serious games as the most recent review of evidence in the research area. Evidence from 93.33% of the included studies confirmed the effectiveness of serious games in addressing eating behavior. This study concludes that serious games are an effective intervention for improving healthy eating behavior and decreasing unhealthy eating behavior and that various elements of behavior change techniques are essential components of implicit nutritional learning through the games. In addition, it is concluded that the risk of childhood obesity and overweight can be reduced or prevented by leveraging the strength of these games. The need for future research in this field was also pointed out by this study.