A small study of exergame play shows that kids really can get a moderate to vigorous workout with active video games. Thirty-nine kids, all around 11 years old, played six different exergames or walked on a treadmill at a kids' fitness center in Boston. Researchers found that every game "increased energy expenditure above rest" for kids of normal weight and also kids who were overweight or at risk of becoming so.
Here are the activities, from most energy expended (highest MET) to least:
- SportWall
- XaviX J-Mat (compare prices)
- Bug Invasion
- Goalie Wars
- Dance Dance Revolution
- Treadmill walking, 3 mph
- Wii Sports: Boxing
All the kids in the study enjoyed the games, but interestingly, the kids who were overweight enjoyed them the most. This research was published online in the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
I love competing science studies. Another good study on children, exercise and the brain is:http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/phys-ed-can-exercise-make-kids-smarter/?ref=health
They finish off their well written article with:
“But for now, the takeaway is clear. “More aerobic exercise” for young people, Mr. Kuhn said. Mr. Hillman agreed. So get kids moving, he added, and preferably away from their Wiis. A still-unpublished study from his lab compared the cognitive impact in young people of 20 minutes of running on a treadmill with 20 minutes of playing sports-style video games at a similar intensity. Running improved test scores immediately afterward. Playing video games did not.”
I haven’t taken the time yet to see if his study is published. I will now.
Wendy, thanks for the link. I definitely don’t suggest exergaming as a substitute for “real” active play and exercise. I thought this study was an interesting one because it compared the MET levels for each activity.