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Despite the negative effects of playing aggressive video games, certain interactive games may help obese children control their weight, a New Zealand study suggests.
Auckland University researchers studied the effects of playing certain types of action video games that involved leaping or swinging the arms on 320 children aged between 10 and 14.
The participants, whom all were classified as overweight or obese, were divided into two groups one playing their regular video games while the other got an EyeToy kit which tracks the game-player's body movements and integrates them into the game.
The intervention group was also encouraged to get 60 minutes of physical activity "most days of the week" by substituting active games for their existing video games.
The findings showed that as the researchers expected on average, all the children gained weight during the six-month study but the increase in the intervention group was about 1kg less.
Scientists also observed a significant reduction in body fat, from 32.1 percent at baseline to 29.8 percent, in the intervention group.
"Although the effect on BMI was small, it was consistent with slowing weight gain so children grow into their height, the management approach recommended in clinical guidelines," researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"As such, the intervention may be a useful addition to [other] strategies, although it is unlikely to be clinically useful if used in isolation," they added.
"The study findings show that this technology has the potential to be a useful addition to a raft of health interventions. It could have significant implications for how health professionals to combat the obesity epidemic or develop rehabilitation programs," said lead author Ralph Maddison.
"Also because of the appeal of traditional video games, at an individual level, parents may have more success encouraging the substitution of sedentary video games with more active ones rather than trying to stop children and young people from gaming altogether," he added.
SJM/PKH presstv
