Active video games don’t mean kids exercise more
“The Wii could serve as a potential replacement for sedentary screen time,” like TV or other video games, he said.
“If we could replace some of that time when they’re just sitting still and not moving… with something active, that may provide some benefit,” Short, who wasn’t involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.
For instance, the minutes per day for light physical activity at seven weeks for the two groups were:
Treatment: Mean 404.70, standard deviation (SD) 68.4, median 419, interquartile range (IQR) 83
Control: Mean 396.26, SD 81.82, median 399.5, IQR 120.18
Mean difference: 8.53 (95% CI -25.72 to 42.79)
For moderate to vigorous physical activity at seven weeks, the minutes per day were:
Treatment: Mean 25.29, SD 14, median 21.71, IQR 19.96
Control: Mean 29.47, SD 19.48, Median 22.5, IQR 30.67
Mean difference: -4.18 (95% CI -11.78 to 3.41)
But, “just because you can play soccer on the Wii, doesn’t mean you should stop playing it outside.”
SOURCE: Pediatrics, online February 27, 2012
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Impact of an Active Video Game on Healthy Children’s Physical Activity
Tom Baranowski, PhD, Dina Abdelsamad, BA, Janice Baranowski, MPH, RDa, Teresia Margareta O’Connor, MD, MPH, Debbe Thompson, PhD, RD, Anthony Barnett, PhD, Ester Cerin, PhD, and Tzu-An Chen, PhD
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide no reason to believe that simply acquiring an active video game under naturalistic circumstances provides a public health benefit to children.
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