Investigating the Relative Exercise Intensity of Exergames in Prepubertal Children

Objective:Literature remains equivocal as to whether exergames elicit energy expenditure (EE) commensurate with physical activity guidelines. Such discrepancies may be attributable to a reliance on absolute exercise intensities which fail to account for differences in cardiorespiratory fitness levels. Materials and Methods:Thirty four pre-pubertal children (20 boys, 10.8±1.0 yrs) completed a 30 minute exergame (two 15 minute games; Kinect Adventures!; Xbox 360) and an incremental treadmill test to determine peak O2 throughout which breath-by-breath gas exchange was measured. Results:Both games elicited moderate intensity (5.7±1.5 and 5.5±1.4 METs), with 36% demonstrating a mean EE in excess of 6.0 METs, commensurate with vigorous intensity. Furthermore, boys demonstrated higher EE during both games (Game 1: boys, 6.0±1.7 vs. girls, 5.2±1.0; Game 2: boys, 6.0±1.4 vs. girls, 4.9±1.2 METs; P<0.05). Hierarchical linear regression revealed sex, maturity and fitness to be significant predictors of EE, accounting for 24%: relative exergame O2=24.53+(2.12*Sex)–(0.42*Maturity offset)–(0.16*relative peak O2). There was no correlation between absolute O2 during the exergames and peak O2 but O2 expressed as a percentage of peak O2 was correlated with peak O2 during both game 1 (r=-0.62, P<0.01) and game 2 (r =-0.59, P<0.01).Conclusion:The present findings provide further evidence that exergames can elicit energy expenditures commensurate with national physical activity guidelines and extend our understanding of the mediators of EE. Specifically, cardiorespiratory fitness and sex must both be considered in the design and implementation of future interventions seeking to utilise exergames to enhance physical activity levels and/or cardiorespiratory fitness

Physiological and perceptual responses to Nintendo® Wii Fit™ in young and older adults

Physically active video gaming (AVG) provides a technologically-modern, convenient means of increasing physical activity (PA). This study examined cardiovascular, metabolic, and perceptual responses in young adult (AP) and older adult (OP) participants engaging in Wii Fitä AVG play, and compared PA levels during play to recommended PA levels. Heart rate (HR), percent heart rate reserve (%HRR), oxygen consumption (VO2), energy expenditure (EE), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), enjoyment level (EL), and step count data were obtained from 10 YP and 10 OP during 15 minutes of rest and four 15-minute bouts of Wii Fitä activities (yoga, balance, aerobics, strength). For all participants, AVG significantly increased HR, VO2, and EE measures above rest, with significant between-activity differences. Responses were similar between YP and OP, except that the activities were more intense for OP, in terms of %HRR and RPE. Most games elicited responses consistent with light-intensity PA, though peak HR and VO2 values for aerobic and strength games met or approached recommended PA intensities. Wii Fitä appears to provide an enjoyable form of light PA for both YP and OP, which can reduce inactive screen time and provide beneficial cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and metabolic stimulation

Closing the loop in exergaming - Health benefits of biocybernetic adaptation in senior adults

Exergames help senior players to get physically active by promoting fun and enjoyment while exercising. However, most exergames are not designed to produce recommended levels of exercise that elicit adequate physical responses for optimal training in the aged population. In this project, we developed physiological computing technologies to overcome this issue by making real-time adaptations in a custom exergame based on recommendations for targeted heart rate (HR) levels. This biocybernetic adaptation was evaluated against conventional cardiorespiratory training in a group of active senior adults through a floor-projected exergame and a smartwatch to record HR data. Results showed that the physiologically-augmented exergame leads players to exert around 40% more time in the recommended HR levels, compared to the conventional training, avoiding over exercising and maintaining good enjoyment levels. Finally, we made available our biocybernetic adaptation software tool to enable the creation of physiological adaptive videogames, permitting the replication of our study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Virtual reality gaming elevates heart rate but not energy expenditure compared to conventional exercise in adult males

Virtual reality using head-mounted displays (HMD) could provide enhanced physical load during active gaming (AG) compared to traditional displays. We aimed to compare the physical load elicited by conventional exercise and AG with an HMD. We measured energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate (HR) in nine healthy men (age: 27 ± 5 years) performing three testing components in a randomised order: walking at 6 km/h (W6), AG, and AG with an additional constraint (AGW; wrist-worn weights). Although we found that HR was not significantly different between W6 and the two modes of AG, actual energy expenditure was consistently lower in AG and AGW compared to W6. We observed that playing AG with wrist-worn weights could be used as a means of increasing energy expenditure only at maximum game level, but ineffective otherwise. Our findings indicate that AG in an HMD may not provide a sufficient stimulus to meet recommended physical activity levels despite increased psychophysiological load. The differential outcomes of measures of HR and EE indicates that HR should not be used as an indicator of EE in AG. Yet, adding a simple constraint (wrist-worn weights) proved to be a simple and effective measure to increase EE during AG

Energy expenditure of “Kinect™” exergaming in schoolchildren

With declining levels of physical activity and increasing body mass indexes recent research has proposed that active video gaming could be a potential tool in the fight against childhood obesity. This study was designed to evaluate the energy and physiological costs of the latest technology of active gaming, Kinect™ for the Xbox360®, in healthy schoolchildren. The hypothesis was that energy expenditure would be significantly greater when children engaged in activity promoting video games using Kinect™ compared to both traditional sedentary video gaming and rest. Energy expenditure, heart rate and oxygen consumption were measured in 18 healthy schoolchildren (10 boys and 8 girls) aged 11 to 15 years during rest, whilst playing a traditional non-active video game and also whilst playing two activity promoting Kinect™ video games. Participants played each game for 15 minutes in a fixed order and measurements were made by indirect calorimetry using the Cosmed K4 b² metabolic cart. Repeated measurement mixed-model analysis was conducted to compare the physiological costs and energy expenditures across conditions with multiple post hoc comparisons. Mean heart rates, oxygen and energy costs all increased significantly (p < .05) during activity promoting video game play compared to rest and sedentary gaming. Mean heart rate increased by 53% above rest (77.4 ± 14.6 bpm) during a dance simulation game (118.3 ± 17.8 bpm) and by 70% during a boxing game (131.3 ± 15.3 bpm). Mean energy expenditures of 3.00 ± 1.03 kcal•min–1 and 4.35 ± 1.55 kcal•min–1 were demonstrated during “Dance Central” and “Kinect Sports Boxing”, 150% and 263% greater than resting values (1.20 ± 0.25 kcal•min–1) and 103% and 194% higher than during sedentary gaming (1.48 ± 0.33 kcal•min–1). Activity levels of 2.91 and 4.02 child-specific METs were achieved when playing the Kinect™ dance and boxing game. Active gaming using Kinect™ on the Xbox360® significantly increased energy expenditure compared to rest and almost tripled when compared to traditional sedentary gaming. In our sample, Kinect™ active gaming expended up to the equivalent of 261 kcal•h–1, 172 kcal•h–1greater than sedentary gaming. Such expenditure could potentially help bridge the ‘energy gap’ that is thought to be responsible for the increasing incidence of obesity seen in children and adolescents

Investigating the Physiological and Psychosocial Responses of Single- and Dual-Player Exergaming in Young Adults

Objective: This study investigated the effect of acute exergaming on the physiological and psychosocial responses of young adults and the modulatory effect of a single- or dual-player game play situation. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six participants (19 male; 21.7 ± 3.8 years; 23.65 ± 3.17 kg/m(2)) each completed two 30-minute exergame sessions in a randomized order (single and dual player) while wearing an Actiheart(®) to estimate energy expenditure. Positive and negative affect, subjective vitality, and indices of intrinsic motivation were assessed directly after each gaming bout. Results: There was no significant difference in energy expenditure or psychosocial outcomes between conditions. Although males expended more energy than females in both single- (z = −2.124, P = 0.033) and dual-player situations (z = −2.679, P = 0.007), females reported significantly greater vitality (z = −2.219, P = 0.026) and effort/importance than males (z = −2.001, P = 0.045). Conversely, males reported a greater negative affect (z = −2.872, P = 0.004) and pressure/tension (z = −3.295, P = 0.001). A linear mixed effects model revealed that energy expenditure during exergaming was a significant predictor of interest and enjoyment (P = 0.001) and effort and importance (P = 0.001). This relationship between energy expenditure and psychosocial variables was not modulated by sex or order of gameplay (single or dual player first). Conclusion: The present results suggest that females have a more positive psychosocial response to exergaming relative to males, highlighting exergames such as Wii™ boxing as a potential avenue for future interventions seeking to address the low physical activity levels that characterize the young adult population

Assessment of active video games' energy expenditure in children with overweight and obesity and differences by gender

(1) Background: Childhood obesity has become a main global health problem and active video games (AVG) could be used to increase energy expenditure. The aim of this study was to investigate the energy expenditure during an AVG intervention combined with exercise, differentiating by gender. (2) Methods: A total of 45 children with overweight or obesity (19 girls) performed an AVG intervention combined with exercise. The AVG used were the Xbox Kinect, Nintendo Wii, dance mats, BKOOL cycling simulator, and Nintendo Switch. The energy expenditure was estimated from the heart rate recorded during the sessions and the data from the individual maximal tests. (3) Results: The mean energy expenditure was 315.1 kilocalories in a one-hour session. Participants spent the most energy on BKOOL, followed by Ring Fit Adventures, Dance Mats, Xbox Kinect, and the Nintendo Wii, with significant differences between BKOOL and the Nintendo Wii. Significant differences between boys and girls were found, but were partially due to the difference in weight, VO2max, and fat-free mass. (4) Conclusions: The energy expenditure with AVG combined with multi-component exercise was 5.68 kcal/min in boys and 4.66 kcal/min in girls with overweight and obesity. AVG could be an effective strategy to increase energy expenditure in children and adolescents with overweight and obesit

Energy expenditure and perceived exertion during active video games in relation to player mode and gender

Active video games (AVG) increase energy expenditure (EE) with respect to sedentary video games. Although several AVG consoles allow playing in single-player (SP) or multiplayer (MP) mode, few studies investigated differences in relation to game modality in men and women. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate gender-related psycho-physiological responses during Zumba Fitness Rush (ZFR) played in SP vs. MP mode. Twenty-four college students (women: 14, men: 10; age: 24.6±2.0 years; body weight: 60.2±12.5 kg; body height: 167.8±11.5 cm; BMI: 21.2±2.1 kg·m-2) participated in two experimental sessions: SP (a subject playing ZFR alone) and MP (two subjects playing ZFR simultaneously). Heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2) and EE (MET and kcal∙min-1) were continuously measured and averaged every 10 seconds, while Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was recorded 30 minutes after the end of each session. A two (gender: women vs. men) by two (modality: SP vs. MP) ANOVA for repeated measures was applied. No differences emerged in relation to gender and game mode for %HRmax, VO2, MET, and RPE. Conversely, a main effect (p=.0007) for gender was found in EE, with significantly (p<.004) higher values in men in SP (women: 5.5±0.6 kcal·min-1; men: 8.3±1.4 kcal·min-1) and MP (women: 5.3±0.7 kcal·min-1; men: 7.6±1.9 kcal·min-1). Present findings suggest that ZFR could be classified as a moderate physical activity, proving to be an alternative form to traditional exercise. Although an effect of number of players could be expected, different player modes did not affect EE, probably because the rhythm of the music imposes a time constraint, independently of the presence of other players

Physiological Responses to Active Video Games Compared to Treadmill Walking and TV Watching in Obese Children and Adolescents

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(7): 519-532, 2021. The purpose of this study was to examine the physiological responses to playing different active video games (AVG), as well as document the activity level exerted during AVG in relation to treadmill walking (TM) and watching television (TV). 20 youth (age 11-17 yr) with obesity were recruited from the Healthy Lifestyle Clinic and underwent testing under six randomized conditions: 1) TM, 2) TV, 3) Fitnexx, 4) river rush (RRH), 5) reflex ridge (RFR), and 6) space pop (SP). RRH, RFR, and SP are active video games for the Xbox 360. Fitnexx is a prototype AVG. Each test lasted approximately ten minutes each with ten minutes between conditions and participants wore a wireless physiological monitor (Zephyr BioHarnessTM3) for all tests. Physical activity was assessed via accelerometer, along with heart rate (HR). Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was also gathered for each condition. Repeated-measures ANOVA examined condition differences. Subjects were age 13.3 ± 2.1 years old with BMI 38.7 ± 7.9 (kg·m·s-2). Fitnexx had the highest activity level (0.63 ± 0.19g ~ jog), while activity levels for TM (0.20 ± 0.04g), RRH (0.29 ± 0.05g), RFR (0.31 ± 0.07g), and SP (0.21 ± 0.05g) were moderate (~walk), Ps \u3c 0.05. Fitnexx had the highest HR (157 ± 13 bpm; Ps \u3c 0.001), compared to TM (117 ± 18 bpm), RRH (128 ± 19 bpm), RFR (127 ± 18 bpm), and SP (122 ± 17 bpm), which were statistically similar. Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was highest for Fitnexx (5 ± 4 RPE) compared to TM (2 ± 1 RPE) on 0 - 10 scale. TV had lowest activity, HR, and RPE (p \u3c 0.04). Given these results, AVG can increase activity levels in youth with obesity and has potential as a therapeutic tool for obese children