Habituation and Cardiovascular Responses to the Gamercize Stepper in Hong Kong Chinese Girls

Contingent active videogame systems have been shown to result in increases in physical activity and decreases in sedentary behavior. The feasibility of using contingent active gaming systems (e.g., the videogame freezes when physical exertion ceases) as an activity alternative and whether these systems will elicit activity of moderate to vigorous intensity is unknown. We aimed to determine whether Hong Kong Chinese girls (8.5±0.3 years old) would (1) easily habituate to stepping and playing videogames and (2) whether stepping and videogaming would result in cardiovascular responses beneficial to health.

Basic anthropometric measures as well as peak oxygen uptake (VO2) were assessed on the first of two laboratory visits. The girls were also given playing instructions for three XBbox 360 (Nintendo, Kyoto, Japan) games: "The Bee Movie," "Surfs Up," and "Kung Fu Panda." On the second laboratory visit, the girls completed a habituation protocol and a 15-minute play session on the Gamercize(®) (Databridge Services Ltd., Southampton, United Kingdom) Stepper™, during which cardiovascular effort was assessed using heart rate monitoring.

Direct observation of the girls showed that four girls needed 90 seconds and 12 of the girls only required 60 seconds to habituate to the Gamercize Stepper. There was no significant difference (t15=-1.944, P>0.05) between the heart rate at 55 percent of peak VO2 (144±9 beats/minute) and heart rate during Gamercize stepping (139±13 beats/minute), indicating that mean heart rates in both conditions were similar. Further analysis showed that 25 percent of the girls stepped and played videogames at a heart rate equivalent to moderate intensity.

Although the girls easily habituated to the Gamercize Stepper, a majority of the girls did not step and videogame at moderate intensity levels, which are associated with body composition changes. Further investigations are warranted to determine mediators responsible for increasing physical activity levels to meet current recommendations.