1. Comparison of rates of perceived exertion between active video games and traditional exercise.
- Author
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Devereaux, Julie, Pack, Meghan, Piccott, Vanessa, Whitten, Kelley, Basset, Fabien, and Rohr, Linda E.
- Subjects
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ANALYSIS of variance , *ANTHROPOMETRY , *CLINICAL trials , *CROSSOVER trials , *CYCLING , *EXERCISE , *EXERCISE physiology , *HEART rate monitoring , *SENSORY perception , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RUNNING , *STATISTICAL sampling , *SCALES (Weighing instruments) , *VIDEO games , *TREADMILLS , *RANDOMIZED controlled trials , *REPEATED measures design , *ERGOMETRY , *EXERCISE intensity , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
Background: Research regarding the Nintendo Wii™ has focused on rehabilitation and balance benefits as well as energy expenditure for games such as boxing and tennis. There is a gap, however, in the literature regarding perceived exertion of the Wii™ compared to other modes of exercise. Research question: The purpose of this laboratory-based study was to compare perceived exertion on the Nintendo Wii™ and two traditional modes of exercise: the treadmill and cycle ergometer. It was expected that the Wii™ would show lower ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) values. Type of study: A repeated measures design was used. Methods: Five healthy males (average age = 21.4 years) and seven females (average age = 22.1 years) completed three 20 minute exercise sessions in random order, one each using the cycle ergometer, the treadmill and the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus™. Exercise intensity was fixed at 65% (± 5 bpm) of each participant's age predicted maximum heart rate. Ratings of perceived exertion and HR were measured every minute. Additionally overall RPE was collected at the end of each trial. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance confirmed that although exercise intensity was consistent across the three exercise methods, overall RPE was lowest for the Nintendo Wii™ (9.50) followed by the treadmill (9.92) and finally the cycle ergometer (11.08), F(1,11) = 10.17, p<0.01. Conclusions: When compared to certain traditional exercise modalities the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus™ was perceived to require less effort. Therefore, using the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus™ is likely to result in higher exercise adherence rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012