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| Things in process of getting weird. |
First, a few notes about the study:
- Games tested were Xbox Kinect Reflex Ridge and Wii Sports Boxing
- More calories were burned playing Xbox Kinect than Nintendo Wii
- More calories were burned in multi-player mode than single player
What does this all mean? For one, it cripples the argument that parents have long used to condemn video games. Kids aren't just sitting in front of the TV anymore; they're dancing, jumping, waving imaginary swords, throwing imaginary footballs... they're doing some serious work.
It's interesting to think about how motion-based gaming might affect the health of America's youngsters. When I was growing up, I probably averaged 90 minutes per day of gaming. If that chunk of time counted as exercise, I would have gotten 630 minutes of exercise per week thanks to video games. That's more than 4 times the amount that the U.S. government recommends.
I'm a believer. Considering the popularity of video games and the amount of time kids spend playing them, I believe that motion-based video games could have a huge impact on physical activity levels and obesity rates in American children. I think there's a real chance that obesity rates could stabilize or even start to drop as motion-based video games become more popular.
Not so fast, says 2nd-year MSPH student in biostatistics, Jason Lee. "If it were my kid, I would be like okay... cool.... you enjoy this video game... but maybe you should go outside and play for a little while too."
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| He should have played more video games as a child. |
Point taken. Then again, playing a skiing or golfing video game could spark an interest in the sport and motivate players to try the real thing. Or, kids here in Atlanta could get a taste of ice hockey or snowboarding, sports that would otherwise be out of reach.
Kids still need to get outside, socialize, and play real sports (e.g. not baseball). But given the fact that kids are going to play video games anyway, it's a good thing that games are evolving into a source of exercise. And for adults, active gaming might be a great way to stay fit. Let's be honest here, nobody actually likes running. Wouldn't you rather play a fun video game for an hour than run your same old loop?
About the author
Dane Van Domelen is a doctoral
student at Emory University. He is pursuing a degree in biostatistics, despite
advice from his friends, colleagues, previous research advisors, parents, and
first grade teacher to go into epidemiology.
Interesting! I wonder what this may mean as far as mental prowess. I know it takes extra coordination and concentration on my part when I play Wii sports. It's not that easy. I like the use of links at the beginning and how you bullet-pointed the main takeaways from the study.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love baseball. Giants!
Hi, Dane, nice job!Motion-based video games sounds interesting and you manage to convey your thoughts in a light and fun tone! I am a little afraid that this video game may have a negative effect on kid's social activities.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's great to play indoors by myself and keep healthy.
After watching my nephews break into a sweat playing Wii, this is actually something I've wondered about. There are obviously other (potentially negative) effects that would likely need to be considered, but it's good to know that something positive can come out of video games. The format of your post worked well and it was very understandable. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Dane,
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was really interesting and very accessible for a wide audience (no pun intended). I was never a video game kid, but we actually got a Wii around the time my daughter was born as a way to get some exercise without needing to get a babysitter in order to leave the house. I really did enjoy the dual player mode, and as you explain in the beginning, more calories were burned in the multi-player mode -- so there must be some connection between playing against an actual person and the motivation to exert yourself more. Maybe this would be a good argument to the anti-social naysayers above. ; )
Especially as someone who did not grow up with video games, I am particularly fascinated by the appeal of this generation of more physical games that get people moving. There is even a game development convention I was invited to recently that focused on health. I'm really interested in how we tap into what people are already doing and use those things as a way to further our own healthy agendas. After all, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?
Hi Dane,
ReplyDeleteNice post. You made the topic very accessible, and you got across the main points of the research without getting bogged down in the methods.
Dane -
ReplyDeleteLoved that you included relevant links in your post (and made sure they were office-friendly) so the actual post didn't get bogged down. You have a very good argument for all of the anti-gamers and the effects video games have on kids! Even though not all video games encourage this, it seems like there are more and more games and a bigger market for ones that promote getting up and moving! I bet kids could use your blog post as a convincing argument for their parents to let them play video games with friends!
Sam
Hi Dane,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. As someone who grew up video game neutral -- though I have recently discovered some latent wii golf skill -- your thesis (video games are healthy!) created a surprising hook that kept me interested.
I also loved your creative use of punctuation (no lie), and the photo captions. Well done.
Hi Dane,
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I've heard about how gaming can be used for exercise, but I never really believed it. This makes me want to put my Wii to better use (as long as I get all breakable items off my shelves- I'm not the most coordinated person).
Who would've thought that multi-player mode would result in more calories burned? I guess this makes sense- afterall, I always feel like I'm racing the person on the treadmill next to me at the gym. Is this just me, or do others do that, too? :-)
Very well-written post with a good dose of humor. I found it to be both entertaining and informative. Well done!
Laura
I remember when the Wii first came out, and there were several stories on the "attachment" rate of the console among non-traditional video game consumers; in particular it was huge with the older population.
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny to me though is that with the success of a lot of these fitness games (like Zumba Fitness - o_0) is that folks are doing traditional workouts that they could have been doing before, but are more enthusiastic about it.
Anderson
Hi Dane,
ReplyDeleteYour post was really interesting! I like how conversational the tone was and how simply you reported the results. I also like that you recommend that kids still go outside to play -- an important message especially for those that do not have the ability to purchase a video game system.
Great post!
Nick
Hi Dane,
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was great!! I like how you began with links to other things that have health benefits and added a little humor. I also like the quote from Jason. Lol. I also thought it was funny t ready your picture captions. Really enjoyed the article. Good work!!
Domonique
Hi Dane,
ReplyDeleteI love your post a lot.
You touch on such an interesting and important issue, video game.
It reminds me of the statistics recently published by a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, which show that the average young person today in a country with a strong gamer culture will have spent 10,000 hours playing video games by the age of 21. 10,000 hours is a really interesting number, because for children in the U.S. 10,000 hours is the exact amount of time they will spend in school from fifth grade to high school graduation if they have perfect attendance.
I'm not a gamer though; I would definitely like to see more people from our public health field engaging in designing fascinating calorie-burning games.
Hefei