The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Models on Mental Health, Eating Patterns, and Body Posture in Children Who Actively Play with Gadgets

This study aims to analyze the effect of Virtual Reality (VR)-based games on the mental health, eating patterns, and body posture of children aged 13–15 years who actively play with gadgets. This study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group and an intervention group. The sample consisted of 66 respondents who were divided proportionally into two groups. The intervention in the form of VR games was given to the intervention group, while the control group did not receive any treatment. The results showed that VR games had a significant effect on improving mental health (p = 0.001) and eating patterns (p = 0.001) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conversely, no significant differences were found in body posture variables in either the intra- group or inter-group analyses (p > 0.05). The conclusion of this study indicates that VR games have the potential to be an effective intervention medium in improving the mental health and eating behavior of children who actively play with gadgets but are not yet effective enough to influence changes in posture. This study recommends the development of VR interventions combined with structured physical exercise to obtain a more comprehensive impact.