This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of active video games over a 6-month period on weight, body composition, physical activity, and physical fitness. In a 2-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial, 322 overweight and obese children aged 10-14 years who were current users of sedentary video games were randomly assigned to receive either an active video game upgrade (n = 160) or to have no change (n = 162). At 24 weeks, the treatment effect on body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.02) favored the intervention group, with baseline BMI change (±SE) increasing in the control group (0.34 ± 0.08) but remaining the same in the intervention group (0.09 ± 0.08). There was also a reduction in body fat in the intervention group (P = 0.02). The change in daily time spent playing active video games at 24 weeks increased (P < 0.0001) and the change in daily time spent playing nonactive video games decreased (P = 0.06) within the intervention group. The authors concluded that an active video game intervention had a small but definite effect on BMI and body composition in overweight and obese children. HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21562081”Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jul;94(1):156-63. PMID: 21562081.
