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Do motion controllers make action video games less sedentary? A randomized experiment.

Elizabeth J Lyons1, Deborah F Tate, Dianne S Ward

  • 1Department of Nutrition, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7461, USA.

Journal of Obesity
|October 27, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Motion controllers in video games may increase energy expenditure, but current action games don't provide moderate physical activity. Some games offer minor energy boosts, potentially reducing sedentary behavior and benefiting health.

Area of Science:

  • Exercise Science
  • Human Movement Studies
  • Digital Health

Background:

  • Motion controllers in video games have demonstrated potential for increasing physical activity.
  • Research is exploring if motion controllers can enhance energy expenditure in sedentary gaming genres like action games.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of motion-based versus traditional controllers on energy expenditure in young adults playing video games.
  • To determine if motion control technology can increase energy expenditure in sedentary gaming contexts.

Main Methods:

  • One hundred young adults were randomly assigned to play three video games using either motion-based or traditional controllers.
  • Energy expenditure was measured during gameplay for each controller type and game pair.

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Main Results:

  • No significant main effect of controller type or game pair on overall energy expenditure was observed (P > .12).
  • A significant interaction effect indicated that in one specific game pair, motion control resulted in a small but statistically significant increase in energy expenditure (0.10 kcal·kg(-1)·hr(-1), P = .048) compared to traditional control.
  • All tested games maintained a sedentary activity level.

Conclusions:

  • Current implementations of motion control in action video games are unlikely to yield moderate-intensity physical activity.
  • While not achieving moderate intensity, certain motion-controlled games can produce small, significant increases in energy expenditure.
  • These modest increases in energy expenditure may contribute to health benefits by reducing overall sedentary behavior.