Reflecting public health interest in the potential of exergames to encourage PA , many review s of this literature have appeared.18 - 20 Some review s have been sympathetic,21,22 whereas others have been critical.23,24 A reasonably balanced assessment revealed that , in research laboratories , exergames could provide an intense workout that included moderate-to-vigorous PA  , but under less-supervised circumstances , children tended not to get much activity18 and their interest in the activity waned over 1 week or less .
Video games , the most commonly enjoyed medium by this generation of children , generates more money than Hollywood productions .
Forty percent of these studies influenced obesity or obesogenic behavior in the desired directions.12 A roundtable discussion of investigators of G4H and obesity indicated substantial potential for video games to reduce child obesity , but emphasized the need for games to be fun , not just health promoting.13 Some of the obesity-related studies used games specially design ed to target diet and /or PA change outside the games.14 - 17 " Squire 's Quest ! , "
Effects of active video games on body composition: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND Sedentary activities such as video gaming are independently associated with obesity .  Active video games , in which players physically interact with images on screen , may help increase physical activity and improve body composition . OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of active video games over a 6-mo period on weight , body composition , physical activity , and physical fitness . DESIGN We conducted a 2-arm , parallel , r and omized controlled trial in Auckl and , New Zeal and . A total of 322 overweight and obese children aged 10 - 14 y , who were current users of sedentary video games , were r and omly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to receive either an active video game up grade package ( intervention , n = 160 ) or to have no change ( control group , n = 162 ) . The primary outcome was the change from baseline in body mass index ( BMI ; in kg/m(2 ) ) . Secondary outcomes were changes in percentage body fat , physical activity , cardiorespiratory fitness , video game play , and food snacking . RESULTS At 24 wk , the treatment effect on BMI ( -0.24 ; 95 % CI : -0.44 , -0.05 ; P = 0.02 ) favored the intervention group . The change ( ±SE ) in BMI from baseline increased in the control group ( 0.34 ± 0.08 ) but remained the same in the intervention group ( 0.09 ± 0.08 ) . There was also evidence of a reduction in body fat in the intervention group ( -0.83 % ; 95 % CI : -1.54 % , -0.12 % ; P = 0.02 ) . The change in daily time spent playing active video games at 24 wk increased ( 10.03 min ; 95 % CI : 6.26 , 13.81 min ; P < 0.0001 ) with the intervention accompanied by a reduction in the change in daily time spent playing nonactive video games ( -9.39 min ; 95 % CI : -19.38 , 0.59 min ; P = 0.06 ) . CONCLUSION An active video game intervention has a small but definite effect on BMI and body composition in overweight and obese children . This trial was registered in the Australian New Zeal and Clinical Trials Registry at http://www.anzctr.org.au/ as ACTRN12607000632493
Reflecting public health interest in the potential of exergames to encourage PA , many review s of this literature have appeared.18 - 20 Some review s have been sympathetic,21,22 whereas others have been critical.23,24 A reasonably balanced assessment revealed that , in research laboratories , exergames could provide an intense workout that included moderate-to-vigorous PA  , but under less-supervised circumstances , children tended not to get much activity18 and their interest in the activity waned over 1 week or less .
Video games , the most commonly enjoyed medium by this generation of children , generates more money than Hollywood productions .
Forty percent of these studies influenced obesity or obesogenic behavior in the desired directions.12 A roundtable discussion of investigators of G4H and obesity indicated substantial potential for video games to reduce child obesity , but emphasized the need for games to be fun , not just health promoting.13 Some of the obesity-related studies used games specially design ed to target diet and /or PA change outside the games.14 - 17 " Squire 's Quest ! , "