Weight Loss from Wii Active Intervention in Overweight and Obese Adolescents

Abstract

Exergames, i.e. video games that require gross motor activity, may provide sustainable physical activity to promote weight loss. Single bouts of exergame play produce caloric expenditure and heart rate meeting levels of cardiovascular fitness, but whether or not prolonged play produces weight loss is unknown. Additionally, the sports context of exergame play, i.e. cooperative versus competitive play, may impact sustainability, and thus weight loss, differently. PURPOSE: To determine if a 20-week exergame intervention produced sufficient caloric expenditure for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents and whether cooperative versus competitive play produced more weight loss. METHODS: Fifty-four 15- to 19-year-old overweight and obese low-income African American adolescents were randomly assigned to competitive exergame, cooperative exergame, or control conditions. Exergame participants were encouraged to play the Nintendo Wii Active game for 30 to 60 minutes daily in a lunch-time or after-school program. Cooperative exergame participants worked with a peer to expend calories and earn points together, whereas competitive exergame participants competed individually against a peer. Weight was measured at baseline, 10 weeks, and 20 weeks. RESULTS: Growth curve analysis revealed that cooperative exergame players lost weight during the intervention, whereas competitive and control conditions did not. The cooperative condition lost more weight than the control group did (t = -2.399, p =.021). There were no significant differences between the cooperative and competitive conditions (t = 2.606, p =.114), or between the competitive and control conditions (t = -0.970, p =.338). Participants in the cooperative condition decreased weight by 1.65 kg (SD = 4.52), whereas the competitive condition gained 0.04 kg (SD = 3.46) and the control group gained 0.86 kg (SD = 3.01). CONCLUSION: Exergames, especially when played cooperatively, can be an effective, sustainable technological tool for weight loss among overweight and obese youth. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.