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BMJ | 22-29 DeceMBer 2007 | VoluMe 335
AbstrAct
Objective To compare the energy expenditure of adolescents
when playing sedentary and new generation active
computer games.
Design Cross sectional comparison of four computer games.
Setting Research laboratories.
Participants Six boys and five girls aged 13-15 years.
Procedure Participants were fitted with a monitoring device
validated to predict energy expenditure. They played four
computer games for 15 minutes each. One of the games was
sedentary (XBOX 360) and the other three were active (Wii
Sports).
Main outcome measure Predicted energy expenditure,
compared using repeated measures analysis of variance.
Results Mean (standard deviation) predicted energy
expenditure when playing Wii Sports bowling (190.6 (22.2)
kJ/kg/min), tennis (202.5 (31.5) kJ/kg/min), and boxing
(198.1 (33.9) kJ/kg/min) was significantly greater than
when playing sedentary games (125.5 (13.7) kJ/kg/min)
(P<0.001). Predicted energy expenditure was at least 65.1
(95% confidence interval 47.3 to 82.9) kJ/kg/min greater
when playing active rather than sedentary games.
Conclusions Playing new generation active computer games
uses significantly more energy than playing sedentary
computer games but not as much energy as playing the sport
itself. The energy used when playing active Wii Sports games
was not of high enough intensity to contribute towards the
recommended daily amount of exercise in children.
IntroductIon
Young people are currently recommended to take an
hour of moderate to vigorous physical exercise each
day, which should use at least three times as much
energy as is used at rest.1 2 Many adolescents have
mostly sedentary lifestyles,3 however, as a result of a
variety of factors. Time spent in front of television and
computer screens has been causally linked to physical
inactivity and obesity, although the associations are
often weak.4
The new generation of wireless based computer
games is meant to stimulate greater interaction and
movement