The Effects of Active Video Games on Children’s Fundamental Movement Skills: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Available evidence suggests that different types of active video games (AVGs) and interventions may have different effects on children's fundamental movement skills (FMS). Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using AVGs is necessary to explore the effects of different types and doses of AVGs on FMS in healthy children. The purpose of this work is to update the current evidence on the effects of AVGs on FMS in healthy children aged 3–12 years. RCTs studies up to June 2021 were retrieved from Chinese and English databases (CNKI, Wanfang database, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, etc.), and the included studies were tested for bias using the Cochrane Risk Bias Assessment Tool. Review Manager 5.3 software was used to conduct meta-analysis. The study type was an RCT trial, the subjects were healthy children aged 3–12 years, and the study topic was a comparison of AVGs with other interventions and the outcome indicator was FMS. There were few high quality experimental studies, with only four of the seven included literature reaching moderate to high quality; (2) AVGs had a moderate effect on overall FMS (SMD = 0.41, 95% CI (0.15, 0.67), p = 0.002), where the effect on object control skills (SMD = 0.41, 95% CI (0.07, 0.75), P = 0.02) was slightly better than locomotor skills (SMD = 0.39, 95% CI (0.02, 0.75), P = 0.04); (3) For FMS, using Xbox Kinect (SMD = 0.55, 95% CI, −0.14–0.99, P = 0.05) in schools (SMD = 0.40, 95% CI, −0.02–0.93, P = 0.05) for at least 12 weeks (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI, 0.08–0.79, P = 0.02), 5 times/week (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI, 0.13–1.02, P = 0.0001), and 30 min/time (SMD = 0.49, 95% CI, 0.20–0.79, P = 0.0009) were more effective. For OCS, using Xbox Kinect (SMD = 0.41, 95% CI, 0.05–1.06, P = 0.04) at home (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI, 0.02–1.03, P = 0.01) for at least 12 weeks (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI, −0.00–1.15, P = 0.01), 5 times/week (SMD = 0.42, 95% CI, 0.05–1.09, P = 0.05), and 45–60 min/time (SMD = 0.47, 95% CI, −0.10–1.07, P = 0.04) had a more significant effect. For LOC, using Xbox Kinect (SMD = 0.47, 95% CI, −0.09–1.27, P = 0.01) in the home (SMD = 0.55, 95% CI, 0.04–1.25, P = 0.05) for at least 10 weeks (SMD = 0.48, 95% CI, 0.16–1.19, P = 0.001), 5–7 times/week (SMD = 0.53, 95% CI, −0.17–1.14, P = 0.007), and 45–60 min/time (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI, 0.07–1.04, P = 0.002) had a more significant effect. Only seven studies were included, the sample size was not large enough and was not comprehensive enough for possible publication bias. AVGs had a moderate facilitative effect on children's total FMS and a slightly better facilitative effect on OCS than LOC.