Active Video Games and Appetite Control in Adolescents
Condition: Active Video Games and Appetite Control
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Video games have enormous mass appeal, are omnipresent in the daily
      schedule of most children and youth and have been linked to the obesity epidemic. The
      investigators research group recently reported that sedentary video game playing increases
      food intake in adolescents. Interestingly, the overconsumption of food associated with seated
      video game play was observed without increased sensations of hunger and appetite, as
      previously observed with television viewing. Active video games offer an appealing
      opportunity for increasing energy expenditure and promoting healthy body weight among
      children and youth who might otherwise be spending time in sedentary screen-based activities.
      However, significant increases in energy expenditure as a result of active video game play
      might be of little importance to energy balance if one compensates by increasing energy
      intake and/or decreasing physical activity. Studies to date have failed to measure energy
      intake so it is currently unknown the effects of active video games on daily energy balance.

      OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study is to examine the acute effects of playing active video
      games on energy intake and expenditure.

      HYPOTHESIS: The investigators hypothesize that the increase in energy expenditure promoted by
      active video games will be offset by compensatory adjustments in food intake and spontaneous
      physical activity subsequent to the intervention.

      RESEARCH PLAN: With the use of a randomized crossover design, 30 normal-weight and 30 obese
      adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age will complete three 1-hour experimental
      conditions, namely (1) resting in a sitting position (control condition), (2) playing Xbox
      360 (sedentary video game condition) and (3) playing Kinect (active video game condition),
      followed by an ad libitum lunch. The primary outcomes will be acute (24-h) and short-term
      (3-day) energy intake and expenditure. Food intake will be measured using an ad libitum test
      meal immediately following the intervention, a food menu for the remainder of the day and a
      dietary record for the subsequent 3-day period. Energy expenditure will be measured using
      indirect calorimetry during the intervention and an Actical accelerometer for the subsequent
      3-day period. Secondary outcomes will include appetite sensations (visual analogue scales),
      stress markers (heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mental workload), and levels of
      appetite-related hormones and substrates (glucose, insulin, cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin).

      RELEVANCE: The present study is innovative and likely to result in a number of new and
      important findings that can inform future recommendations. If the investigators confirm our
      hypothesis, the clinical implication will be to rethink the strategy of promoting active
      video games as an intervention tool for the prevention of overweight and obesity in youth.
    


Intervention name(s): Active video gaming; Passive video gaming; Resting
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Active video games; Food intake; Energy balance; Adolescents