Two Small Steps for a Gamer, Two Giant Steps for Gamerkind
July 31, 2008 4:44 pm ThoughtsI have been very busy of late writing up the results of some of my experiments into energy expenditure whilst playing active video games (ExerGames). I am glad to report that I made the submission deadline yesterday. The paper was more of a magazine type article than a pure research paper so it was quite hard going. Writing it made me think hard about how I communicate to readers both my research findings and my enthusiasm in a clear and concise manner.
It occurred to me that, “If the levels of physical exertion required to play active video games were actually quite modest, would they still be worth getting excited about?” My response was that even if all that playing the games achieved was that the player learned to become comfortable with the bodily sensations associated with physical exertion and it gave them confidence to try out new activities then that would be worth it. So whilst they might seem like two small steps for a Gamer, lack of body awareness and low self-efficacy are known barriers to exercise. Now if active video games were to succeed in moving large numbers of people closer to a habitually active lifestyle, then that would be two giant steps for Gamerkind.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:37 am
“… lack of body awareness and low self-efficacy are known barriers to exercise.”
I think you put this perfectly. If someone who never used to move let alone exercise was to experience the joy of movement, and may this be even fairly low impact/exertion, then, I would assume, they could get hooked on that joy.
While I personally wouldn’t want to use exergames (distinctive non-gamer here) and prefer a good old gym without distractions, I can see how a game can be motivational.