Body mass index, new modes of TV viewing and active video games

BACKGROUND Childhood obesity is one of the most important public health problems of the 21st century and active-video games have been proposed as a good alternative to exercise and are being investigated to find out their effectiveness against childhood obesity. OBJECTIVE to summarize the current research and extract conclusions about the effects of active video games on health-related physical fitness and motor competence in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. METHODS The search strategy was applied to PubMed, Medline, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus, including randomized and non-randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of programs using active video games on health-related physical fitness and motor competence of children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. Two different quality assessment tools were used to measure the risk of bias for randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria and the variables of interest were body mass index, body fat percentage, cardiorespiratory fitness, waist circumference, fat-free mass, muscular fitness and motor competence. A meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS Positive effects were found for body mass index and body fat percentage, favouring the active video games group compared with a control group with no intervention (MD, -0.209; 95% IC, -0.388, -0.031; an d MD, -0.879; 95% IC, -1.138, -0.602, respectively). Positive effects seem to be found for cardiorespiratory fitness. The effects of interventions with active video games on muscular fitness, fat-free mass and waist circumference and motor competence are unclear. CONCLUSIONS Programs using active video games showed positive effects on body mass index, body fat percentage and cardiorespiratory fitness. Active video games could be a good strategy to fight against childhood obesity. CLINICALTRIAL A protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, PROSPERO (CRD42020189138).

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Active and Sedentary Video Game Time

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000109 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 39-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Erica Scharrer ◽

Adam Zeller

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Gender Differences ◽

Video Games ◽

Video Game ◽

Survey Methodology ◽

The Body ◽

Video Gaming ◽

Relative Time ◽

Active Video Games ◽

Active Video

This study used survey methodology to measure opinions of 13- to 15-year-olds (N = 176) about sedentary and active video games and the relative amount of time spent with those games, and evaluated correlations between time spent with those two types of games and the body mass index (BMI) of the respondent. Results showed no evidence of any correlation between BMI and relative time devoted to video game usage by type of game (active versus sedentary), nor any support for a correspondence between overall levels of time spent with video games and BMI. Yet, the data did point to a nonlinear association in which those who devoted more than 50% of the total time they spend with video games on sedentary games had a higher BMI than those who spent less than 50% of their video gaming time with sedentary games. Important gender differences also emerged in the adolescents’ opinions of active versus sedentary games.

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Impact of Active Video Games on Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Evaluating the Quality of Primary Studies

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16132424 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (13) ◽

pp. 2424 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Carlos Hernández-Jiménez ◽

Raquel Sarabia ◽

María Paz-Zulueta ◽

Paula Paras-Bravo ◽

Amada Pellico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Video Games ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Active Video Games ◽

Active Video ◽

Standardized Mean Difference

Objective: To study the impact of active video games on Body Mass Index (BMI) in children and adolescents. Design and Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Data were pooled in meta-analysis using the method of random effects or fixed effects, as appropriate, after examination of statistical heterogeneity. Data sources and eligibility criteria for selecting studies. A comprehensive literature research was conducted in Medline (PubMed), ISI web of Knowledge, and SCOPUS up to April 2018, in relation to clinical trials (both controlled and non-controlled) in children and adolescents, whose intervention was based on active video games. Results: The overall intragroup effect of the intervention based on active video games was in favor of the intervention, reaching statistical significance using the fixed effects model: (standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.138; 95% CI (−0.237 to −0.038), p = 0.007 and was of borderline statistical significance in the random effects model: SMD= −0.191; 95% CI (−0.386 to 0.003), p = 0.053. The individual results of the determinations of the 15 included studies for this analysis showed a high heterogeneity among them (I2 = 82.91%). When the intervention was applied to children and adolescents with greater than or equal to 85 (overweight or obese) BMI percentile showed a greater effect in favor of the active video games: SMD= −0.483, p = 0.012. The overall intra-group effect in the control group was close to zero (SMD = 0.087). With respect to the non-standardized mean difference (MD) between groups, it was also in favor of active video games for both BMI (Kg/m2): DM = −0.317, 95% CI (−0.442 to −0.193), p = < 0.001 and BMI z-score: DM = −0.077, 95% CI (−0.139 to −0.016), p = 0.013. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis show a statistically significant effect in favor of using active video games on BMI in children and adolescents. The clinical relevance of this positive effect must be evaluated.

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Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041641 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1641 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Isis Kelly dos Santos ◽

Rafaela Catherine da Silva Cunha de Medeiros ◽

Jason Azevedo de Medeiros ◽

Paulo Francisco de Almeida-Neto ◽

Dianne Cristina Souza de Sena ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Video Games ◽

Physical Fitness ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Active Video Games ◽

Moderate Quality ◽

Active Video

The aim of this study was to synthesize the evidence on the effects of active video games (AVGs) on mental health, physical fitness and body composition of children and adolescents. A search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed; MEDLINE (by Ovid); SportDiscus, Cochrane library systematic reviews (CENTRAL) and EMBASE with no language restrictions during October 2020. Reviews on the use of AVGs were included in the study. We use the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) scale to analyze the methodological quality of the studies. Seventeen systematic reviews and meta-analyzes were included on the effects of AVGs with 30 to 4728 children and adolescents of both sexes with ages ranging from 6 to 19 years. In five studies, the population was overweight or obese. Regarding the quality, 12 studies were of moderate quality, two had high quality, two had low quality and one showed very low quality. The analyzed data indicate that the use of AVGs with a frequency of 1 to 3 times a week with durations of between 10 and 90 min per day shows positive effects on mental health and physical functioning. There was moderate quality evidence that AVGs can result in benefits for self-esteem, increased energy expenditure, physical activity and reduced body mass index in children and adolescents who used AVGs in the home environment. Further research is needed on this tool to help in the process of social isolation and consequently in promoting health and well-being.

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Alternative Model for Physical Activity: Active Video Games Lead to High Physiological Responses

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport ◽

10.1080/02701367.2020.1864258 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Cihan Aygün ◽

Hayriye Çakir-Atabek

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Video Games ◽

Alternative Model ◽

Physiological Responses ◽

Active Video Games ◽

Active Video

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Active Game-Based Solutions for the Treatment of Childhood Obesity

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21041266 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 1266

Author(s):

Carina S. González-González ◽

Nazaret Gómez del Río ◽

Pedro A. Toledo-Delgado ◽

Francisco José García-Peñalvo

Keyword(s):

Childhood Obesity ◽

Video Games ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Behavior Changes ◽

Active Video Games ◽

Level Of Satisfaction ◽

Active Video ◽

Life Habits ◽

And Behavior

Obesity is one of the biggest health problems globally that, together with sedentarism, requires solutions that increase the enthusiasm towards physical activity. Therefore, this paper describes two solutions based on active games using the Kinect sensor and biometric sensors, designed for the outpatient treatment of childhood obesity. The solutions were applied in an intervention program based on active video games and motor games, developed with children in treatment for childhood obesity. An ad hoc questionnaire was used to assess the level of satisfaction, fun, learning, and behavior changes in the children of the experimental group that developed the intervention. The results showed a high index of satisfaction with the intervention program, as well as with the games developed. It is concluded that active video games and group games are highly motivating and can promote behavior change towards healthier life habits in children.

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