The effects of exergaming on physical activity among inactive children in a physical education classroom

Childhood obesity, which is due in part to lack of physical activity, is a serious concern that requires the attention of the behavioral community. Although excessive video game play has been noted in the literature as a contributor to childhood obesity, newer video gaming technology, called exergaming, has been designed to capitalize on the reinforcing effects of video games to increase physical activity in children. This study evaluated the effects of exergaming on physical activity among 4 inactive children in a physical education (PE) classroom. Results showed that exergaming produced substantially more minutes of physical activity and more minutes of opportunity to engage in physical activity than did the standard PE program. In addition, exergaming was socially acceptable to both the students and the PE teacher. Exergaming appears to hold promise as a method for increasing physical activity among inactive children and might be a possible intervention for childhood obesity.     

The effects of exergaming on physical activity in a third-grade physical education class

We compared the effects of exergaming and traditional physical education on physical activity among 4 active children who were not overweight and who had experience with the exergaming activities prior to the study. Results showed that exergaming produced substantially higher percentages of physical activity and opportunity to engage in physical activity. In addition, an evaluation of the exergaming equipment showed that exergaming stations were associated with differential levels of physical activity across participants.     

ASSESSING AND INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Increasing physical activity is a crucial component of any comprehensive approach to combat the growing obesity epidemic. This review summarizes recent behavioral research on the measurement of physical activity and interventions aimed at increasing physical activity and provides directions for future research.