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Getting fit
while playing video games
At Kids Friendly New
Zealand we are always interested in ways to encourage
our children to be active. So we are interested to see
where the University of Auckland is going to take the
study on video games as an exercise regime.
The research team is looking into whether active video
games can help New Zealand children beat the obesity
epidemic. They therefore need volunteers to take part in
a six-month study investigating whether active video
games can lead to a sustained improvement in the health
of children.
Initial studies have shown that the energy expended in
playing active video games in short bouts is equivalent
to energy expended in more traditional physical
activities such as cricket, cycling and walking. A pilot
study also showed that playing active video games was
associated with greater physical activity and a
reduction in overall video game play. The new study,
funded by the Health Research Council, examines whether
active video games can have sustained effects on body
mass, physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness
in children.
"Three in every ten New Zealand children do little or no
physical activity and one third are overweight or obese,
with a higher prevalence amongst Maori and Pacific
children," says Dr Ralph Maddison of the Clinical Trials
Research Unit. "There is an urgent public health
requirement to find ways to increase physical activity
in children. Sedentary behaviours such as playing video
games are thought to be part of the problem. New active
video game technology requires players to interact with
images on screen, which potentially could be a real help
in getting children to increase their physical activity
and reduce obesity."
The research team is looking for children aged 10-14
years, who play video games and live in the Auckland
area, to take part in the eGAME study. For more
information, call 0800 4 eGAME (0800 4 34263).
We will follow this one up once the research is done.
I’m sure you will be just as interested in it as we will
be!
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