Using health e-games (exergames) to encourage physical activity among urban middle school youth

Children's lack of physical activity(PA) is a threat to public health. The new generation of health e-games (exergames) offers options for PA in a safe play-inspired environment. The purpose of this study is to compare enjoyment and energy expenditure(EE) of traditional school based PE activities to that of two exergames: Dance, Dance Revolution(DDR), a dance genre exergame and the Winds of Orbis (ORBIS) a prototype Active-Adventure exergame. Methods: Participants (n=75) included primarily African-American/Latino middle school students (6th-8th grade), 60% male, 50% overweight/obese (85th percentile), in the District of Columbia. PA enjoyment was measured with visual analogue scales at baseline and after each activity. EE was measured during 20 minutes of participation in PE, ORBIS, and DDR using accelerometry. Mean enjoyment scores and EE values were compared using multivariate analyses. Results: Obese/overweight and female students showed significantly (p<0.05) lower enjoyment scores for PA/PE at baseline. No significant differences were found for enjoyment of either exergame by BMI percentile. Boys showed higher levels of enjoyment for ORBIS and girls for DDR. The greatest average EE occurred in the PE modality (2.90±0.96 kcal/min), followed by ORBIS (2.53±0.85 kcal/min), and DDR (2.07±0.79 kcal/min). For the sample overall, EE differences between activities were statistically significant. There were no significant differences between PE and ORBIS stratified within overweight/obese and male students. Conclusion: Exergaming showed promising results in increasing PA/PE enjoyment and energy expenditure among middle school youth. The use of health e-games offers unique ways to improve children's health, especially in the area of physical activity.