Miriam Study Will Pay You to Play Video Games

Miriam Study Will Pay You to Play Video Games

Daily exercise, whether it’s going for a jog or taking a fitness class at the local gym, is still a difficult chore for many Americans, even though the health benefits of physical activity are widely known. Yet many adults and children have embraced popular exercise video games – including tennis, bowling and boxing – that feature player movement. But can these so-called “exergames” offer the same fitness benefits as traditional or more structured forms of exercise?

That’s the focus of a new $2.6 million National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grant awarded to researchers with The Miriam Hospital’s Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. According to principal investigator Beth Bock, Ph.D., emerging research indicates that a single session of exercise video games can produce significant increases in energy expenditure and increase heart rate to levels equaling moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; both outcomes could lead to overall physical and fitness improvements. However, it is unclear whether adults will participate in “exergames” regularly enough to reap these rewards.

New models to get people moving

“We know that regular physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and certain forms of cancer, yet more than a quarter of U.S. adults do not devote any time to physical activity,” says Bock. “We must develop innovative approaches to promoting increased physical activity that are engaging enough to be sustained.”

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Bock and colleagues plan to build on the success of their recent pilot program, in which adults participating in a 12-week “exergame” program showed improvements in physical and cardiovascular fitness. In this new trial, researchers will compare whether participants in a supervised exercise video game program are more likely to increase their weekly physical activity time compared to adults in a supervised standard aerobic exercise program and a control group. They also will look at changes in physical fitness and cardiovascular health among the three groups.

Do "exergames" work?

In addition, the team will examine whether adults who participate in a six-month, home-based “exergame” program are more likely to adopt and maintain those efforts compared to a standard aerobic exercise program. All participants will be tested for physical fitness, including body composition, cholesterol and cardiovascular fitness, at the start and end of the study.

Get paid to play

The study is open to men and women, 18 years and older, who are generally healthy and are not exercising regularly. Participants will be randomly assigned to a supervised aerobic exercise program, a supervised exercise videogame program or a wait list for a gym membership. There is no cost to participate and participants will be compensated for their time.

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