Active Video Games and Appetite Control Clinical Trial
Official title:
Effects of Active Video Games on Energy Balance: a Randomized Crossover Study in Adolescents
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Video games have enormous mass appeal, are omnipresent in the daily
schedule of most children and youth and have been linked to the obesity epidemic. The
investigators research group recently reported that sedentary video game playing increases
food intake in adolescents. Interestingly, the overconsumption of food associated with seated
video game play was observed without increased sensations of hunger and appetite, as
previously observed with television viewing. Active video games offer an appealing
opportunity for increasing energy expenditure and promoting healthy body weight among
children and youth who might otherwise be spending time in sedentary screen-based activities.
However, significant increases in energy expenditure as a result of active video game play
might be of little importance to energy balance if one compensates by increasing energy
intake and/or decreasing physical activity. Studies to date have failed to measure energy
intake so it is currently unknown the effects of active video games on daily energy balance.
OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study is to examine the acute effects of playing active video
games on energy intake and expenditure.
HYPOTHESIS: The investigators hypothesize that the increase in energy expenditure promoted by
active video games will be offset by compensatory adjustments in food intake and spontaneous
physical activity subsequent to the intervention.
RESEARCH PLAN: With the use of a randomized crossover design, 30 normal-weight and 30 obese
adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age will complete three 1-hour experimental
conditions, namely (1) resting in a sitting position (control condition), (2) playing Xbox
360 (sedentary video game condition) and (3) playing Kinect (active video game condition),
followed by an ad libitum lunch. The primary outcomes will be acute (24-h) and short-term
(3-day) energy intake and expenditure. Food intake will be measured using an ad libitum test
meal immediately following the intervention, a food menu for the remainder of the day and a
dietary record for the subsequent 3-day period. Energy expenditure will be measured using
indirect calorimetry during the intervention and an Actical accelerometer for the subsequent
3-day period. Secondary outcomes will include appetite sensations (visual analogue scales),
stress markers (heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mental workload), and levels of
appetite-related hormones and substrates (glucose, insulin, cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin).
RELEVANCE: The present study is innovative and likely to result in a number of new and
important findings that can inform future recommendations. If the investigators confirm our
hypothesis, the clinical implication will be to rethink the strategy of promoting active
video games as an intervention tool for the prevention of overweight and obesity in youth.
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