Comparison of acute exercise responses between conventional video gaming and isometric resistance exergaming

Exergaming is a relatively new type of entertainment that couples physical activity and video gaming. To date, research that has focused on the physiologic responses to exergaming has been focused exclusively on aerobic-type activities. The purpose of this project was to describe the acute exercise responses (i.e., oxygen uptake [VO(2)], heart rate, and rate of perceived exertion [RPE]) to exergaming using full-body isometric muscle resistance and to determine whether these responses are different during single- versus opponent-based play. Male subjects (n = 32) were randomly and equally divided into either an experimental (EXP) or control (CON) group. Acute exercise responses VO(2), heart rate, and RPE) were measured in all subjects during both solo- and opponent-based video game play. Subjects in the EXP group played using a controller that relied on full-body isometric muscle resistance to manipulate the on-screen character, whereas CON subjects used a conventional handheld controller. During solo play, the EXP group exhibited significantly higher values for VO(2) (9.60 +/-0.50 mL/kg/min) and energy expenditure (3.50 +/- 0.14 kcal/min) than the CON group VO(2) 5.05 +/- 0.16 mL/kg/min; energy expenditure 1.92 +/- 0.07 kcal/min). These changes occurred with no significant differences in RPE or heart rate between the groups. These results suggest that whole-body isometric exergaming results in greater energy expenditure than conventional video gaming, with no increase in perceived exertion during play. This could have important implications regarding long-term energy expenditure in gamers.