The Obesity Row

Videogames: a Cause, or a Possible Solution?

Is it really the case that we are encouraging a generation of children to avoid doing any exercise and spend all their time playing videogames?

Throughout history, children have always been encouraged to participate in 'quiet' pursuits and hobbies in addition to sports and other physical activities, whether at school or in their own leisure time. In our grandparents day, they were encouraged to draw, paint, or read books. In our parents day they were encouraged to do the same or to watch children's television after coming home from school. This was never instead of physical activity, but as well as.

Children cannot be expected to be running around and exercising all the time - in fact, when they are, we worry that they are having too much sugar or too many E-numbers in their diets. It's important to find a balance.

It's true that we should be concerned that this generation does not become more sedentary than the one before it. Watching television is now considered the most popular sedentary activity for children of all ages, with over a quarter of 11-16 year-olds watching more than four hours per day. The number of primary school children who walk to and from school has fallen from 62 per cent in 1989/91 to 56 per cent today. Activity levels for teenage girls are particularly low, with 64 per cent of 15 year-old girls being classified as 'inactive'.

Participation in school sport has decreased from 46 per cent in 1994 to 33 per cent in 1999 - however it appears that the amount of sport within schools may not be the only answer. Recent studies have suggested that children in schools that do a lot of sport are less active outside of school, and similarly those children at schools that do very little sport are more active outside of schools.

When both groups are compared the amount of daily/weekly activity is actually very similar, but clearly shows that the total amount is less than 20 or more years ago. What is not a welcome development is that children at many schools are prevented from playing football, or skipping, or other physical activities, for health and safety reasons, in case they hurt themselves, each other or the occasional dinner lady!

'Exergaming' and the Research

Recent studies have shown that the more active types of games consoles (Playstation dance mats, Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit, jOG system, etc) can encourage exercise and weight loss.

One study showed that 12 hours of active play with an 'exergaming' system over the space of a week can burn up as much as 1800 calories, which in younger children is a significant amount. In younger overweight children we often do not ask them or parents to restrict their calories at all and hope for weight maintenance, which as they grow, will result in them becoming proportionally less overweight with time. In those older children we often only request a calorie deficit of just a few hundred calories a day (equivalent to a chocolate bar and bag of crisps or fizzy drink). If a games console can provide a deficit of 1800 calories over a week this can be an invaluable tool.

In five minutes of exergaming, the equivalent of 600 steps can be taken, which is the equivalent of brisk walking. So, for an hour of playing these more active videogames, over half the recommended daily number of steps can be achieved. This could equate to the same amount of energy expenditure required to burn as many calories that are found in a chocolate bar, and has been shown to be double the number of calories burnt when compared to sedentary gaming.

Similarly heart rates were comparable during active gaming and brisk walking, and although assumed to be insufficient to help maintain or improve cardiovascular fitness, it was significantly better than sedentary gaming.

All current studies into the benefits of exergaming suggest that it is not as good, and should not be considered a replacement for 'proper' sports and other exercise. Society has a responsibility to encourage children to be as active as possible, not only to help fight the obesity epidemic but also for good cardiovascular fitness.

However, if we realise that children have always been encouraged to have solitary hobbies, and that this generation choose this to be videogaming, we need to accept this and move with the times. If our children are spending too much time playing on inactive gaming systems then we need to encourage more exergaming as an alternative, as this has been shown to potentially help manage the problem.

Who knows, for example, after playing a game of tennis on an active games system it may encourage children to pick up a tennis racquet to try the real thing!