Research finds playing active video games can meet recommended physical activity levels

A health researcher at Dublin City University has evidence to show that playing active video games can meet recommended daily physical activity levels.

The study by Javier Monedero from the School of Health and Human Performance at DCU compared entertainment themed active videogames (AVGS) and fitness-themed AVGs with conventional exercise with a view to examining the interaction between physiological and psychological responses from a sample of twenty-three young men and women.

The findings suggest that utilising active videos games can help to engage sedentary young adults to meet recommended exercise guidelines.

Active video games were defined as games which required the participant to get off the couch, and move, as opposed to traditional video games where the players are sedentary.

The findings have been published in the online journal PLOS ONE.

Speaking about the research Javier Monedero said:

“Physical inactivity is a real problem in terms of public health and active video game play can be a part of the solution for a lot of people since it is enjoyable, leads to positive feelings and it is possible to meet the physical activity guidelines by playing these games.”

Participants were analysed while randomly assigned to thirty minutes of either self-selected intensity exercise; moderate intensity exercise; entertainment-themed video and fitness themed video games.

The study used XBOX 360 Fitness Evolve for the fitness video game while XBOX 360 Kinect Adventures was used for the entertainment themed game.

The results found that active video games met the criteria for moderate to vigorous physical activity and could form part of future physical activity recommendations.

In addition, participants enjoyed the two active video game trials significantly more than the two conventional exercise trials.

The research cautioned that while there are a variety of active video games on the market, the findings of this study, cannot be generalised to apply to every active video game.

Physical inactivity is responsible for 3.2 million deaths globally, while sedentary behaviour, defined as energy expenditure while sitting or lying, is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.