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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

T. Carter Bethea, MD¹, Ann E. Maloney, MD², Linmarie Sikich, MD¹, and Diane Berry, PhD, CANP³. (1) Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Dr. CB #7160, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7160, 919-843-7364, terrence_bethea@med.unc.edu, (2) Division of Child Psychiatry, Maine Medical Center, UVM College of Medicine, 216 Vaughan Street, Portland, ME 04102, (3) School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB# 7460, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7460

Objective: Investigate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of an active videogame, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), to increase physical fitness (PF) in 9 – 11 year old children.

Methods: This naturalistic pilot recruited twenty-eight (28) 4th and 5th grade children attending a school-based afterschool program. After baseline assessments were acquired, all children had access to DDR for 30 minutes, 2-3 days per week in afterschool and unlimited access at home. After 12 weeks of DDR, participants repeated the baseline assessments. The outcome measures were physical activity (PA), PF (20 meter shuttle run test – 20mSRT), home DDR use, survey of safety and acceptability, weight/bodyfat percentage, and field assessment of fasting lipids and glucose. Data was analyzed with respect to home DDR use. The high home use cohort played a minimum of 30 different songs and/or parents reported use greater than 7 hours per week.

Results: 21 of 28 children completed Week 12 assessments. Eighty-six percent (18/21) were categorized as high home utilizers of DDR. Physical fitness increased by 6.6%±9.8 of baseline VO2max. Five children improved their VO2max by more than 10% (range 11.5 – 30.9). There were no striking changes in bodyweight, fasting lipids, or fasting glucose.

Conclusion: A significant portion of children without prior exposure to DDR will participate in this activity. Regular use of DDR at home appears to increase their physical fitness. This improvement in PF occurs without concomitant change in bodyweight, fasting lipids, or fasting glucose. DDR needs further study as a means to increase physical fitness in youth.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Infer the ramifications of sedentary behaviors in children
• Assess the utility of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to increase the physical activity of school-aged youth
• Discuss the practical limitations of integrating DDR into the school curriculum
• Develop a DDR pilot for their school, afterschool, or community program

Keywords: Child Health Promotion, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: 1) Playstation 2 game console is manufactured by Sony. 2) DDR games are produced by Konami. 3) Cardiochek PA is a CLIA-waived blood anal

Not Answered