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By The Gamer, August 29, 2009 11:09 am

The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics just published two new articles about gaming, exercise and the potential benefits for children. Though this isn’t obviously directly related to COTS games in the classroom, you could make an argument that a well-funded (or grant-funded) school could look at, for example, Wii Fit for Phys Ed classes.

The first, Playing Active Video Games Increases Energy Expenditure in Children, uses Dance Dance Revolution to measure whether or not actively-engaged video games (think games that make you get up and move) are tantamount to actual exercise. Turns out, yes, they are.

Energy expenditure during active video game play is comparable to moderate-intensity walking. Thus, for children who spend considerable time playing electronic screen games for entertainment, physically active games seem to be a safe, fun, and valuable means of promoting energy expenditure.

Similar results were seen between DDR Beginner level and Wii Bowling, and also between DDR Level 2 and Wii Boxing, which turns out to be about as strenuous as walking at nearly 6km/h.

Though, I will say that any child doing this is definitely burning some calories.

The second article, Can Exergaming Contribute to Improving Physical Activity Levels and Health Outcomes in Children?, found that exergaming is not really a substitute for real sports and physical activity because most “exergames” do not reach the same level of intensity as actual sports. The author does say, however, that there are a few games that provide sufficiently intense activity (like, I would imagine, half an hour of doing what that kid is doing). The author addresses previous studies and future suggestions:

Only 3 very small trials have considered the effects of exergaming on physical activity levels and/or other health outcomes in children. Evidence from these trials has been mixed; positive trends for improvements in some health outcomes in the intervention groups were noted in 2 trials. No adequately powered randomized, controlled trial has been published to date, and no trial has assessed the long-term impact of exergaming on children’s health. We now need high-quality randomized, controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of exergaming, as well as its clinical relevance; until such studies take place, we should remain cautious about its ability to positively affect children’s health.

So, as with most things, more research is needed. Imagine that. If nothing else, it has promise, right?

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