A new study published in Pediatrics found that giving kids an “active” videogame that involves moving around during play may not actually increase levels of physical activity.
Some past research has shown that active videogames may increase physical activity; however, these studies may have included explicit instructions about using the videogames and/or other characteristics that affected the context in which the game was played. Under normal circumstances, the new research shows that merely having an active videogame may not increase levels of physical activity, and/or may not cause exercise intensity levels to rise to a meaningful level.
In the current study, researchers gave children a Wii with either two active or two non-active videogames. The kids were found to have similar levels of physical activity at the end of the study, even when controlling for overweight status and neighborhood safety (for ease of playing outside).
More research is certainly needed to test the impact of these types of games in natural environments. It would also be useful to know what may mediate the effects of having such videogames available, such as individual characteristics of kids that may make them more or less likely to make maximal use of these games. Alternatively, it may be that factors within the home environment or school routine may affect times and types of games played. Understanding under what conditions and for whom these active games may be most helpful in promoting physical activity is a challenge for researchers in the future.
This actually surprises me! I really enjoy my Wii and Kinect games and thought that they'd be perfect to buy for my future kids to increase their physical activity. But I suppose an active game is like a dusty exercise bike: bought with the best of intentions but no benefit is reaped if left unused. Plus, I remember as a kid how excited I was over a new toy only to tire of it in a few weeks. I can see the same happening with kids and active games. You make a lot of good points in the last paragraph, and it will be interesting to see what research uncovers. The optimist in me would like to think that active video games could be promoted as a legitimate exercise option. It'll be interesting to see what the barriers are for using active video games regularly and if we as health communicators can help individuals overcome those barriers.
I like your analogy Katie – active video games are no different from the exercise bike for adults or the birthday toy for kids. I wonder if schools/families that have active video games and only use them for indoor recess (when it rains/snows/etc) might be able to maintain the games' novelty and therefore active participation.