The Quest for the Perfect ExerGame

Report from symposium entitled “Active Computer Games as a Tool to Promote Physical Activity Among Children” at the ISBNPA annual conference 2008. ISBNPA stands for the “International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity” (bit of a mouthful). Around 40 researchers in the field physical activity behavior attended the symposium. Dr Ingrid Bakker (chair) gave a brief introduction and then it was on to the first presentation.

Dr Alasdair Thin presented a review of a number of studies he has conducted into various different genres of “Active Video Games” and highlighted the features that tend to maximize the oxygen consumption and hence energy expenditure required to play them. He included a number of brief video clips to illustrate the games and these were well received by the audience, even provoking several periods of laughter (must be on to something here!).

Monique Simons followed on in a similar manner, with energy expenditure data from another set of active video games, again with a degree of variation in the physical exertion required to play them. In addition, she had studied periods of free play, where the children could choose which games to play. Feedback from the participants revealed that a the games that were most attractive incorporated a degree of challenge or competition that was neither too easy nor too difficult, but well matched to the player’s ability.

Dr Antonio Palmeira then described an intervention using “Active Video Games” in overweight adolescents. Conventional treatments had failed the patients and this was seen pretty much as a last resort. However, it was deliberately decided not to focus on weight loss, but rather behavioral change. The introduction of “Active Video Games” resulted in an increase in physical activity in parallel with a reduction in sedentary behavior. Whilst it is early days, this finding is a promising start.

Dr Bakker gave the last presentation on “Computer Technology in Outdoor Playgrounds”. She described a number of recent innovations and gave qualitative data on how they were received by the children. It was immediately apparent that different games appealed to different age groups and that there were distinct differences between primary school year groups. However, as the novelty of the games wore off over time, the games lost their popularity in favor of traditional activities.

A lively discussion followed the presentations and their were both positive and negative comments. Two key issues were how much of the participation effect is due to a “novelty factor” and would “Active Video Games” just “steal” physical activity time from more traditional play activities? To counter this, the early state of the field was acknowledged and the potential for “Active Video Games” to adapt to the player’s ability and move away from a “one size fits all”. Also there was recognition of the wider context of such games including networked games, leagues and other incentive schemes.

In closing, the symposium was attended by some established researchers in the physical activity behavior field and whilst there was a degree of healthy skepticism, a challenge was put down to prove them wrong. Therefore the quest continues…

L to R: Alasdair Thin, Ingrid Bakker, Antonio Palmeira & Monique Simons