Metabolic Cost and Exercise Intensity During Active Virtual Reality Gaming

The aim of this study was to investigate the exercise intensity of active virtual reality games (AVRGs) by oxygen consumption (VO₂), heart rate (HR), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). A second aim was to compare the AVRG intensities to current American College of Sports Medicine exercise guidelines using metabolic equivalents (METs) and %VO₂ reserve (%VO₂R).

HR, VO₂, and RPE were collected on participants (N = 41; age: 25.2 ± 4.4 years) during 10-minutes of supine rest and while the participants played each of the following AVRGs for 10 minutes: Thrill of the Fight (TOF), Audioshield (AS), and Holopoint (HP).

Compared to resting values of HR (63 ± 10 bpm) and VO₂ (4.9 ± 0.6 mL/[kg·min]), there were significant elevations in these variables during TOF (149 ± 16 bpm and 32.5 ± 7.1 mL/[kg·min]), AS (131 ± 24 bpm and 19.1 ± 5.9 mL/[kg·min]), and HP (135 ± 22 bpm and 24.8 ± 6.6 mL/[kg·min]). Based on 95% confidence intervals (CI) of %VO₂R, TOF was classified vigorous (68.6% ± 2.8%), HP moderate (49.7% ± 2.7%), and AS light intensity (35.7% ± 2.4%). The 95% CI of METs indicated that TOF was classified vigorous (9.3 ± 0.3 METs), HP moderate to vigorous (7.1 ± 0.3 METs), and AS moderate intensity (5.5 ± 0.3 METs). Lastly, 95% CI of RPE led to TOF being classified as moderate (12.7 ± 0.4), whereas HP (10.5 ± 0.4) and AS (9.3 ± 0.3) were light intensity.

These data suggest that these AVRGs can elicit significant increases in VO₂ that are game-dependent, indicating increased energy expenditure. Furthermore, each game had a lower intensity categorization based on RPE compared to %VO₂R or METs. These data provide information on the metabolic cost of movement-specific games and may aid consumers and fitness specialists in developing exercise programs with AVRGs.