ARE ACTIVE VIDEO GAMES EFFECTIVE IN ELICITING AT LEAST MODERATE INTENSITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN AND DO CHILDREN ENJOY PLAYING THEM?

Abstract

Despite current physical activity (PA) guidelines, children spend an average of 1-3 hours/day playing video games. Most video games are associated with sedentary behaviour, but some support physical interaction through motion sensing input devices. This technology has allowed the development of active video games (AVG) that involve dancing, fighting, playing sports or exercising and require the players to physically move their body in order to play. We wanted to investigate if popular AVGs can elicit at least moderate PA in children. We also wanted to determine what aspects of their favorite video games children find enjoyable and compare this to the AVGs used in the study in an effort to improve future AVG design. We reviewed 80 AVGs and selected Kung Fu (KF) and Dance Central (DC) for the Microsoft Kinect on the Xbox One as they were the most entertaining and elicited the most PA. Subjects underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing, peak heart rate (HR) and HR at anaerobic threshold ([email protected]) were obtained. Subjects were asked to play these games for 30 to 40 minutes each while their HR was monitored. Game Engagement Questionnaires (GenQ) were used to evaluate the AVGs and the participants favorite video game. Twenty healthy children aged 8 to 16 (mean 11.8 ± 2.5, 12 male) were enrolled in the study. Participants reported playing video games for 2 hours/day on average and the majority preferred video games over outdoor PA. The median [email protected] was determined to be 68% (IQR 65-74%) of the measured peak HR and corresponds well to reported moderate PA intensity levels (50-70% of HRmax=220-age). The proportion of time during game play that participants HR was above the HR thresholds for moderate and vigorous exercise was determined (Table 1). DC and KF produced at least moderate PA for a median of 67% (IQR 28-76%) and 95% (IQR 92-97%) of gameplay time, respectively. While participants enjoyed these AVGs, they still preferred their favorite games (GenQ score of 1.82 ± 0.67 vs. 0.95 ± 0.70 (DC) and 1.39 ± 0.37 (KF)). While outdoor PA is preferable, the reality is that children prefer playing mostly sedentary video games. Well-designed AVGs can provide moderate to vigorous PA and are enjoyable to play. However, interest in any particular video game is fleeting. To address this, the gaming industry needs to be socially responsible and incorporate enjoyable PA components into their video games and the government should support this.