Abstract
Exergames have been recommended as alternative ways to increase the health benefits of physical exercise. However, energy system contributions (phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative) of exergames in specific age groups remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of three energy systems and metabolic profiles in specific age groups during exergames. Seventy-four healthy males and females participated in this study (older adults, n = 26: Age of 75.4 ± 4.4 years, body mass of 59.4 ± 8.7 kg, height of 157.2 ± 8.6 cm; adults, n = 24: Age of 27.8 ± 3.3 years, body mass of 73.4 ± 17.8 kg, height of 170.9 ± 11.9 cm; and adolescents, n = 24: Age of 14 ± 0.8 years, body mass of 71.3 ± 11.5 kg, height of 173.3 ± 5.2 cm). To evaluate the demands of different energy systems, all participants engaged in exergames named Action-Racing. Exergames protocol comprised whole-body exercises such as standing, sitting, stopping, jumping, and arm swinging. During exergames, mean heart rate (HRmean), peak heart rate (HRpeak), mean oxygen uptake (VO2mean), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), peak lactate (Peak La−), difference in lactate (ΔLa−), phosphagen (WPCr), glycolytic (WLa−), oxidative (WAER), and total energy demands (WTotal) were analyzed. The contribution of the oxidative energy system was higher than that of the phosphagen or glycolytic energy system (65.9 ± 12% vs. 29.5 ± 11.1% or 4.6 ± 3.3%, both p < 0.001). The contributions of the total energy demands and oxidative system in older adults were significantly lower than those in adults and adolescents (72.1 ± 28 kJ, p = 0.028; 70.3 ± 24.1 kJ, p = 0.024, respectively). The oxidative energy system was predominantly used for exergames applied in the current study. In addition, total metabolic work in older adults was lower than that in adolescents and adults. This was due to a decrease in the oxidative energy system. For future studies, quantification of intensity and volume is needed to optimize exergames. Such an approach plays a crucial role in encouraging physical activity in limited spaces.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that there will be a 10% reduction in physical inactivity by 2025
This study revealed that the oxidative energy system was predominantly utilized (65.9% of total energy demand) during exergames, and this was significantly lower in older adults than in adolescents
For the exergames applied in the current study, the oxidative energy system was predominantly used
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that there will be a 10% reduction in physical inactivity by 2025. 28% of adults showed an increase in physical inactivity from 2001 to 2016 [1]. Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles are major factors for an increase in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes [2,3]. It has been documented that physical activity and mortality are strongly associated with each other, having an inverse dose–response relationship [4]. In 2017, 2.2 billion people worldwide spent many hours performing sedentary behaviors such as playing video games (mobile games, web-based games, computer games, and home entertainment games) [5]. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 4905; doi:10.3390/ijerph17134905 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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