Energy Expenditure During Physically Interactive Video Game Playing In Male College Students With Different Playing Experience

Abstract

A previous study has indicated that playing physically interactive video games offers a viable alternative to walking as a means for meeting the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) daily physical activity and energy expenditure recommendations. The effect of game playing experience on energy expenditure has yet to be explored. Purpose To determine if playing experience results in different levels of energy expenditure during participation in a physically interactive video game, Dance, Dance Revolution (DDR; Konami of America, Inc., Redwood City, CA). Methods Thirteen male college students volunteered, six experienced DDR players (21.0 + 2.2 years; 71.3+ 2.6 inches; 82.9+ 17.7 kg; VO2max: 49.4+ 10.7 ml*kg-1*min-1) and seven inexperienced (25.6 + 1.6 years; 68.9 + 2.5 inches; 69.2+ 19.3 kg; VO2max: 56.8 + 10.7ml*kg-1*min-1). Experienced players were defined as individuals who regularly and consistently played DDR in the “heavy” mode option whereas inexperienced players opted to play at the “beginner” level. Each participant completed a maximal graded exercise treadmill test to assess maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), and a session of DDR. Heart rate (HR; Polar heart monitor), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), respiratory exchange rate (RER), oxygen consumption (VO2) via open-circuit indirect calorimetry, total caloric expenditure (TEE30), time to expend 150 kilocalories (T1 50), average steps per minute (S1.0), total steps (TS30), and steps necessary to attain an energy expenditure of 150 kilocalories (TS150), were recorded over 30 minutes during the treadmill and DDR sessions. Step counts were recorded using a Yamex 701 pedometer. Results Compared to inexperienced participants, experienced participants demonstrated significantly higher exercise HR (160.6 + 13.7 vs. 95.5 + 10.4 beats per minute), RPE (14.4 + 1.3 vs. 10.7 + 1.7), RER (0.92 + 0.05 vs. 0.84 + 0.04), VO2 (25.8 + 6.5(52.5 + 9.2%VO2max) vs. 13.1 + 2.2 (23.6 + 4.4% VO2max)ml*kg-1*min-1), TEE30 (307.4+ 56.2 vs. 144.0+28.7kilocalories), S1.0 (108.9 + 11.1 vs. 73.6+ 17.2 steps*min), and TS30 (3267.0 + 334.3 vs. 2207.2 + 514.7 steps) (p < 0.05). Experienced participants also had significantly lower T1 50 and TS150 compared to inexperienced participants (14.8 + 2.8 vs. 32.2 + 7.4 minutes, and 1593.7+ 197.3 vs. 2273.2 + 187.1 steps, respectively) (p < 0.05). Conclusion This pilot study suggests that experienced DDR players expend greater energy during game play, even exceeding ACSM recommendations. This has important implications for individuals interested in using video game play for energy expenditure and possible weight loss or maintenance.