Surprise! Video games can actually get us moving
Let's face it: we are a nation of couch potatoes. Despite the apparent popularity
of all kinds of outdoor and indoor sports and physical activities, more than half
of Canadian adults 20 years of age and older are not physically active according to the Canadian Fitness
and Lifestyle Research Institute's (CFLRI) 2004 Physical Activity Monitor.
These inactive lifestyles, notes CFLRI, mean that most Canadians are facing an
increased risk of chronic disease.
Youth in Canada, ages 13-19, are at even higher risk. Findings from the 2004
study show that 79% of teens don't get enough regular, physical activity
to meet international guidelines for optimal growth and development. Girls are
more likely to be inactive than boys.
Glued to the TV and the computer
For the most part, kids are sitting in front of a computer, a television or
both, say parents. In the CFLRI Research Institute's 2003 capacity study, parents
reported that on average, their kids spend almost
three hours per weekday watching television and playing computer or video
games and an additional 77 minutes on a typical weekend day playing
computer/video games.
Well, if you can't beat them, join them. If we can't tear ourselves
and our kids away from virtual reality, maybe we should be putting the appeal
of video games to good use and take advantage of technology to help us to be
active.
It's not as far-fetched as it sounds.
Working
out with the video game bike
Researchers in British Columbia are testing interactive video games to see what
kind of workout they can provide.
"If you can link physical activity with the attractive properties of video
games, you've got a recipe for success," says Darren Warburton,
assistant professor of cardiovascular physiology at the University of British
Columbia (UBC). "This could be great for people who don't like physical
activity but who do like video games."
An ongoing study enrolls sedentary male university students aged 18 to 24 years.
All participants are matched for age and fitness levels and randomly assigned
to one of two exercise groups. Half the group is assigned to a regular stationary
bike that can be pedalled while listening to music. The other half uses a stationary
bike equipped with a cycle ergometer—a device that measures how far you've
travelled—hooked up to a video game console/machine with a full menu
of games, including race car driving. In the race car driving game, the faster
you pedal, the faster your onscreen race car goes. Participants use the bike's
handlebars to steer around the onscreen race track.
Before starting the workouts, participants hear a lecture on the health benefits
of physical fitness and a review of recommendations in the Physical Activity
Guide. Then they're
instructed to work out on the bikes three times a week for at least 30 minutes.
Each participant wears a heart monitor and is supervised to make sure he is
exercising at the intensity needed to improve fitness. After six weeks, fitness
assessments are carried out in both groups.
Promising
preliminary results reflect the fun factor
"Getting people to get moving and stay with
it is our goal"
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Preliminary results with the video game bike indicate that it delivers the
same cardiovascular benefits as a regular stationary exercise bike by giving
riders a workout that gets the heart into the fitness-building zone.
But the video game bike may do an even better job of keeping people exercising
since the fun factor appears to keep riders coming back for more—and staying
on longer and longer—even if they're not usually video game players.
Preliminary results show that in the regular stationary bike group, measures
of VO2-max—the gold standard of fitness which looks at the amount
of oxygen your body can transport to working muscles during vigorous exercise—improved
by three %. By comparison, fitness improved by 11% in the video game bike group.
"We didn't put an upper limit on the amount of time participants
could ride the bike," says Dr. Warburton. On average, people riding the
video game bike stayed on 10-15 minutes longer than their counterparts riding
the regular bike with music. Even though half of the participants were not avid
video game players, they too were motivated by the new technology, notes Dr.
Warburton.
Looking ahead
The UBC/U-Vic group is planning another study to look at the impact of a dance
video game on fitness levels in young women, as well as a study to test a computerized
12-week fitness program incorporating yoga, tai chi and martial arts into a
workout routine that uses a video game console and a television.
It may be that the fun experience distracts from the initial discomfort and
fatigue that often derails wannabe fitness buffs, points out Dr. Ryan
Rhodes, associate professor of behavioural medicine at the University of Victoria
(U-Vic). "We want to know if these games will help people stick with being active
or if they're just a flash in the pan."
Being active on a consistent and regular basis is the key to boosting fitness
and enjoying health benefits. "Getting people to get moving and stay with it
is our goal," explains Dr. Warburton. "Interactive video games may be a way
to get sedentary young people to get physically active," he says, "but simply
walking
regularly has also been shown to lead to real health benefits."
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