Interactive video games: Tools for increasing physical activity levels

With the obesity epidemic currently affecting the United States it is imperative to determine what activities children and adolescents want to participate in. With sedentary activities such as video game playing occupying much of a student's time there is an opportunity to use video games as a resource for improving physical activity levels. Technological advances have helped enhance video game systems to include interactive video gaming. Interactive video gaming involves direct physical participation from game players that influence the character(s) in the game. Moreover, participants can compete against one another in physical competition where results are displayed on the game screen. Games such as Dance Dance Revolution include a pad which players step on to keep up with various beats and rhythms. Other systems involve movement-based game play where controls mimic objects used in the game (e.g., swords, baseball bats, boxing gloves, etc). Current systems such as the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 2's EyeToy have been designed to be primarily interactive with many sports games already available. The purposes of this presentation are to provide information on which interactive video game systems are available in the United States and what potential benefits these games have on increasing daily physical activity and fitness levels.