The aim of this presentation is to outline a recent pilot intervention using Nintendo Wii during lunch breaks in a school in the Midlands of England Uploaded on behalf of Michael J Duncan, School of Science, University of Derby, UK for the Interactive Fitness and Exergame Seminar at LIW, Sept 24th.

2. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE “ The ‘obesity epidemic’, we are told, is the consequence of modern ‘Western life’. Children, in particular, have been singled out as an especially problematic lot. Experts of one kind or another regularly describe today’s children as not only fatter than previous generations, but also less active, less athletically skilled, less interested in physical activity, less self-disciplined (and therefore more likely to choose the ‘easy’ or ‘soft’ option, be it with respect to physical activity or food) and more addicted to technology. “ (Gard & Wright 2005: 7)

5. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE The myth of the solitary, sedentary, male, teenage gamer is inaccurate – much gaming is social , the age range of players is broad, many females are immersed in gaming and increasingly gaming is kinaesthetic – dance mat games, Sing Star , the Eye Toy and the Wii. Challenging the scapegoating of games

6. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE When games are played alone and sitting down, the player adopts the same position as the reader of a novel. Yet there is little public concern about the novel as a factor in obesity. Challenging the scapegoating of games

7. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE The aim of this presentation is to outline a recent pilot intervention using Nintendo Wii during lunch breaks in a school in the Midlands of England

9. Procedures www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE The intervention group undertook twice weekly sessions of active video gaming during school lunch breaks. Active video game play sessions used the Nintendo Wii console and game titles marketed to enhance physical activity, e.g., Wii Sports (Tennis), Sonic and Mario at the Olympics (100m, 110m hurdles). This was compared to a control group who undertook ‘traditional’ recess activity

10. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE Physical activity was assessed during the 1 st , 3 rd and 6 th weeks of the 6-week period for both groups using pedometry (New Lifestyles, NL2000, Montana, USA) and heart rate monitoring (Polar RS400, Polar Electro, OY, Finland). Step counts were converted to steps/min in order to account for minor variations in the time engaged in recess activity across the monitoring period (Jago et al., 2006). Resting heart rate was determined a priori by averaging the 5 lowest recorded heart rate values recorded for each child (Janz, 2002) lying supine for a 10-minute period in a darkened room. Heart rate reserve (HRR) values of 50 (HRR50) and 75 (HRR75) percent were used as threshold values to represent moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), (Ridgers et al., 2006).

11. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE Results A 3 (Measurement Period) by 2 (Group), repeated measures ANOVA indicated that steps/min were greater ( F 2, 56 = 3.88, P = .02). for the intervention group on the first week of the intervention period but lower than the control group at the mid and end points of the 6-week period (See Figure 1). Figure 1. Mean ± S.D. of Steps/Min of the intervention and control group during the 1 st , 3 rd and 6 th week of the intervention period.

12. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE The percentage of time spent in MVPA was significantly ( P = .0001) lower in the intervention group across the intervention period. Figure 2. Mean ± S.D. of percentage of recess time spent in MVPA for children across the intervention period for the intervention and control groups. There were no changes in BMI over time of between groups (P>0.05)

13. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE Interview Data All children reported owning at least 1 games console and average daily game play ranged from 1 to 5 hours per day The children saw having the chance to take part in active video gaming as an opportunity to do something different during lunchtime “You can get bored sometimes playing the same thing at lunch break” [Girl2]. Most of the children felt they had been active overall when playing on the Wii. This perception was further qualified with the children saying it depended on what activity they would have been doing outside as ‘some activities are more physically active than others but also some of the Wii games were more physically demanding than others’. It was clear that the more physically active children (who had listed multiple activities) found it easy whereas the least active child [male with very high levels of computer game use and very low levels of physical activity] said it was “very hard” but overall it was fun “it was fun, it makes you realise how active you are during a day” [Girl].

14. www.derby.ac.uk SCHOOL OF SCIENCE Conclusions Data suggest an acute effect of Nintendo Wii based, active video gaming only . Adds support to laboratory based studies suggesting the active game play may not be sufficient to contribute to children’s recommended daily levels of physical activity in the long term (Graves et al., 2007). Future studies are warranted on this issue using more precise measures of physical activity (e.g., accelerometry) and examining the use of active video games in different settings (e.g., the home). Gaming experience is also an important consideration. Reductions in physical activity seen as the children progressed through the intervention may have arisen because they actually become better at playing the games. To some extent this may negate the premise on which these gaming platforms are based Acknowledgement: This research was supported by a small grant from the TANITA healthy weight trust