 "Photo: Spenser Albertsen")
Move over conventional exercise and make way for "exergames."
Although less beneficial than traditional modes of getting fit, virtual exercise is making waves as a new way to feel the burn.
In a nation where obesity rates continue to rapidly swell, especially among young people, Greg Brown, an associate professor of exercise science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, believes any physical activity is better than nothing.
Brown led a recent study investigating the physical effects four video games had on 25 10- to 15-year-old test volunteers.
The researchers scrutinized participants' heart rates, energy expenditure and oxygen consumption after each of the four games: Gran Turismo 4, Dance Dance Revolution, Wii Tennis and Wii Boxing - all played for 15 minutes.
For those gamers who prefer thumbing joysticks, the results appear bleak: The subjects' energy expenditure and oxygen consumption levels while idle were the same as when they were playing Grand Turismo 4.
However, these amounts were three times greater after playing the Wii games and DDR.
In addition, their heart rates increased by 35-40 beats per minute, about the same as a walking heart rate.
Gamers who played Wii Boxing and DDR burnt nearly 2.25 calories per minute, which is significantly less than the roughly 10 someone would burn while running for the same duration, but the gain is important nonetheless, Brown said.
A similar study conducted at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., came to nearly the same conclusion.
Twenty-five children between 8 and 12 years old had their energy expenditures measured after playing activity-enhancing video games.
Researchers found the participants used twice as much energy when "sedentary screen time (was) converted to active screen time.
"Such interventions might be considered for obesity prevention and treatment," the study continued.
Due to many young people's intrigue with video games and relative disinterest in exercise, some schools are investing faith in the results of studies like these by implementing virtual exercise in their curricula.
By the end of this school year, it is planned for all public schools in West Virginia to be equipped with DDR, according to an article in USA Today.
Lincoln Public Schools has also spent some time on the exergame bandwagon.
Last year a virtual exercise game developed by CommGraphics Interactive, a multimedia production company based near Lincoln, was piloted at Park Middle School in Lincoln.
Thirty-five students played the game, which used a special Gametrak controller to translate players' real-life movements onto the screen.
In the yet-untitled program, players can walk, run, jump or kick their way through the action-adventure, said Bryan Rickertsen, co-owner of CommGraphics.
When competitors complete the game, it is as if they had walked nearly 30 miles, Rickertsen said.
Although exergames have yet to become part of the LPS physical education curriculum, Marybell Avery, curriculum specialist for health and physical education for LPS, is quite open to the idea.
"We know there's a lot that technology has to offer to education, and we're always willing to try new things," she said.
But the overwhelming benefit of traditional exercise can't be overstated, Avery said.
"There is no substitute to getting outside and playing."
teresalostroh@dailynebraskan.com
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