Guest_Jim_* Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 One of the stereotypes of gamers is that we are out of shape, because we spend our time in front of screens instead of doing various physical activities. Active video games challenge that perception though, as they can have the player moving their entire body quite a lot. To see how much this movement may amount to, researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville have studied the energy expenditure of active video game play and unstructured outdoor play, to see how the compare. Studies have looked at active video games before, but have not considered energy expenditure when compared to outdoor play. For this study, the Tennessee researchers placed accelerometers on the hips and both wrists of children from five to eight years old. Over a three-week period, the children were monitored during 20 minute sessions of outdoor play or Kinect Adventures River Rush, which was selected because it uses the entire body, requires no special skills, and has an E rating from the ESRB. The researchers found that active video games could actually be a good source of physical activity, with the hip sensors actually registering more activity for the video game than for outdoor play. Of course this does not mean active video games should become a primary source of physical activity, but that the right game could support a child's physical health. Source: University of Tennessee, Knoxville Back to original news post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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