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Activity-promoting video games and increased energy expenditure
Lorraine Lanningham-Foster1, Randal C Foster, Shelly K McCrady
1Endocrine Research Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. lmlf@iastate.edu
Objectives:
To test the hypothesis that both children and adults would expend more calories and move more while playing activity-promoting video games compared with sedentary video games.
Study Design:
In this single-group study, 22 healthy children (12 +/- 2 years; 11 male, 11 female) and 20 adults (34 +/- 11 years; 10 male, 10 female) were recruited. Energy expenditure and physical activity were measured while participants were resting, standing, watching television seated, sitting and playing a traditional sedentary video game, and while playing an activity-promoting video game (Nintendo Wii Boxing). Physical activity was measured with accelerometers, and energy expenditure was measured with an indirect calorimeter.
Results:
Energy expenditure was significantly greater than all other activities when children or adults played Nintendo Wii (mean increase over resting, 189 +/- 63 kcal/hr, P < .001, and 148 +/- 71 kcal/hr, P < .001, respectively). When examining movement with accelerometry, children moved significantly more than adults (55 +/- 5 arbitrary acceleration units and 23 +/- 2 arbitrary acceleration units, respectively, P < .001) while playing Nintendo Wii.
Conclusion:
Activity-promoting video games have the potential to increase movement and energy expenditure in children and adults.
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