Physical Activity Recommendations Can Be Met Using A Physically Interactive Video Game Among College Students

Abstract

Although a plethora of aerobic activities are available for improving fitness, many college students do not accumulate at least 30 minutes or 150 kilocalories of moderate intensity physical activity on a daily basis, as recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Identifying non-traditional aerobic activities, such as Dance, Dance Revolution (DDR; Konami of America, Inc., Redwood City, CA), a physically interactive video game, may help rectify this trend. PURPOSE To determine if participation in a physically interactive video game that emphasizes lower body movements provides a means for meeting the current physical activity recommendations. METHODS Twenty college students (7 males and 13 females; 24.0±2.6 years; 66.5±3.2 inches; 66.6±16.5 kg; VO2max: 46.2±10.7 ml*kg−1*min−1) volunteered as participants. Each participant completed a maximal graded exercise treadmill test to assess maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), a treadmill walking protocol at a self-selected “brisk walking pace”, 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 (T150), average steps per minute (S1.0), total steps (TS30), and rating of overall enjoyment (1 = not enjoyable; 5 = highly enjoyable), were recorded over 30 minutes during the treadmill and DDR sessions. Step counts were recorded using a Yamex 701 pedometer. RESULTS No significant differences were observed between treadmill walking and DDR sessions for exercise RPE (11.1±1.0 vs. 10.7±1.3), RER (0.87±0.04 vs. 0.86±0.04), or T150 (35.9±28.9 vs. 38.4±9.1 minutes). The treadmill walking session compared to DDR, generated significantly higher average exercise HR (113.0±14.2 vs. 105.4±11.3 bpm), VO2 [16.3±2.8 (36.1±6.7% VO2max) vs. 12.3±2.2 (27.3±5.3% VO2max) ml*kg−1*min−1], TEE30 (167.3±56.5 vs. 122.3±27.4 kilocalories), S1.0 (126.7±6.5 vs. 78.0±19.9 steps*min), TS30 (3799.9±195.2 vs. 2339.0±597.1 steps), and TS150 (3724.7±1119.0 vs. 2901.5±746.7 steps) (p < 0.05). A significantly higher level of enjoyment was observed for the DDR (4.1±0.9) compared to treadmill walking (3.1±1.2) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Although treadmill walking was higher intensity and greater overall energy expenditure, participants reported greater enjoyment and a similar duration to expend 150 kilocalories with DDR. This pilot study suggests that the DDR video game provides an enjoyable alternative to walking for attaining the ACSM recommended daily physical activity for healthy college students.