Energy Expenditure And Cardiopulmonary Responses To Sedentary And Physically-interactive Video Gaming In College Males

There has been a simultaneous rise in obesity and sedentary leisure activity rates in youth over the past three decades. The video gaming industry has responded to this by introducting physically-active video games meant to counter the more sedentary nature of their products. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare energy expenditure and cardiopulmonary response patterns during sedentary vs. physically-interactive video tennis. METHODS: Ten college-age males underwent maximal exercise treadmill testing to determine maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), ventilatory factors (VEmax,TVmax) and heart rate (HRmax). One week later subjects played seated, sedentary video tennis (SVT) for 18 minutes, rested 10 min. then played an 18-minute round of interactive video tennis (IAVT) while VO2, kcal, HR,VE, TV, and breathing frequency (BF) were monitored. Mean values for all variables were compared using an ANOVA posthoc paired t test, p=.05. RESULTS: Mean VO2, HR, VE, TV, and kcal expenditure during IAVT (7.61 mL·kg-1·min -1, 93.14 bpm, 13.46 L/min,.684L, 2.99 kcal/min) were significantly higher than SVT (4.88 mL·kg-1·min -1, 80.07 bpm, 10.18 L/min,.583L, 1.88 kcal/min). There was no significant effect from either game format on BF. Mean VE and TV in both game situations were significantly lower than both resting and maximal VE and TV. When reported as %VO2max, %HRmax, and %VEmax, IAVT play elicited rates of 17.25%, 48.3%, and 15.25% respectively, whereas SVT rates were 11.22%, 41.57%, and 11.42%. Subjects reached a significantly higher Peak VO2 on IAVT (9.86 mL·kg-1·min -1) compared to SVT (6.51 mL·kg-1·min -1). CONCLUSIONS: IAVT elicited significantly higher values compared to SVT for all reported variables except BF, leading to the conclusion that IAVT gamers worked at a higher %VO2max, %HRmax, % VE, and calorie cost compared to playing a similar, but seated, handheld video game. Ventilatory data indicated a ventilatory relaxation response in both game situations. Neither game elicited values to cause a training effect or burn significant calories. IAVT was comparable in energy expenditure to folding laundry or driving a car, suggesting that interactive video games touted as physically-active are still a low-active endeavor.