Combating Obesity in Children with Exergaming!!!
By Katherine Culver MPH, SPT
Childhood obesity has risen to epidemic proportions in the United States. After volunteering and working in various hospitals, clinics and school systems since high school this issue has become a passion of mine. It was so sad to see overweight children not being able to play sports and games with their friends because their level of fitness would not allow them to keep up. Other children were picked on and teased just for being overweight. Obesity can seriously affect a child’s quality of life as well as promote negative feelings of self-worth.
Research suggests that “Children aged 8-18 spend more time in front of the computer, TV, and game screens (44.5 hours per week) than any other activity except sleeping.” (Sinclair, 2007). Parents have constantly been advised that sedentary activities like these contribute to obesity. We as a technology driven generation need to learn that children are not going to stop playing video games. Instead of fighting technology, we need to embrace it. This is where exergaming comes in.
Advances in technology have opened the door to all kinds of possibilities. Watch J and J Pump It!!!
For my capstone project I generated an evidence table using the most recent research studies on exergaming in children. To view the evidence table click here.
I also created an educational brochure using the health literacy information provided by Karen McCulloch. It teaches parents and families about what exergaming is, it’s benefits, and the best games to buy to get their child moving and excited about exercise. To view the brochure click here. I also developed an evaluation tool to find out how effective my brochure was. I gave it to my advisors and committee members and used their feedback to improve upon my project to make it more useful for their clinical settings. To view the evaluation tool click here.
A power point presentation designed for current PT’s and PT students was created to teach them about exergaming and the research evidence behind it. The presentation addresses the problem of obesity, its consequences, and exergaming as a new way to combat this growing epidemic. To view the power point click here. With 99% of boys and 94% of girls (Staiano, 2011) frequently playing video games, my hope is that the information provided will encourage PT’s to recommend exergaming as a mode of physical activity for their patients. An evaluation tool was developed for the presentation. It can be viewed here. The information provided by this tool helped me change and improve my presentation to make it as valuable of a teaching tool as possible.
Thank you for viewing my Capstone!!! I hope the information you read here will make you go home and buy a gaming system for your own children and recommend exergaming to inactive patients. I would like to thank my committee members Mary Lou Dodd and Andrea Hartzell and my advisors Katie Ollendick, Karen McCulloch, and Mike Gross for all of their help, input and suggestions. Together let’s combat one of today’s problems with today’s technology!!!
9 Responses to “A New Way to Be Physically Active….Exergaming!”
Mike Gross
Katherine- a fantastic job accumulating information, both scientific and practical, to help children, parents and students. Mike
kculver
Katie and April – I haven’t personally distributed it yet. Andrea in the transition program is one of my committee members and she said she may distribute the brochure to parents and patients that could benefit from this intervention and to those that can actually afford it since it is an expense. My other committee member was one of my CI’s from teh Wake county public school system and she and some of the other PT’s in her department want to distribute the brochure to some of their patients that can benefit. There are always new games and new studies coming out so the brochure and presentation would have to be updated pretty frequently in order to keep up with all the new information and technology.
Amanda Reed
Great job Katherine! I think with childhood obesity on the rise that Exergaming is a great idea to get kids active and having fun. I love that your presentation included the prevalence of childhood obesity as well as the risks, and I think this was a very good way to lead into the importance of physical activity. The video of J and J dancing was adorable and did a great job at showing how active and fun video games can be! I also loved that you include recommendations of good games for kids and parents to try. Thanks for all the wonderful info!!
afay
Katherine,
Great project! Many of us PTs want people to do what we do, exercise for health benefits, go outside and get fresh air and love it! The reality is that not everyone has the same interests and desires as we do and we should embrace opportunities to incorporate physical activity into activities that people find fun and enjoyable. I think this is a great example. What are your plans for distributing the brochure? Do you plan to update it as new exergaming games come out on the market?
kevolker
Katherine, Very interesting project! Being more of a traditionalist, I hate to accept that kids these days would rather spend so much time inside playing video games as opposed to being active/playing sports, but it’s reality, and I think you are right on track when you made the argument for embracing technology and encouraging exergaming. I know it can be good exercise, especially for kids who are otherwise sedentary, and your references showed that. I was really surprised how much research has been done on this topic already, and I thought your presentation for PTs was extremely helpful! I love how you provided information about specific games and their activity levels. The brochure you created is also a great resources for parents! Have you been able to distribute it to any parents yet? Overall, great job!!
Katie V.
Brittany
Katherine,
This was a very well designed project. I love how you integrated not only research but also resources for the general population about console/game prices and sites to compare the products. I think this is an excellent concept to go with the flow instead of fighting the current. I (and probably others) have seen games used as interventions for balance, coordination, or movement in general, but this is a great way to use it is a preventative technique. Now we just need to figure out a way for insurance companies to pay for game consoles and games! Great job!
Brittany
kculver
Lindsey and Ashley – Thanks for viewing my project 🙂 It definitely is very difficult to get a child to do something that they don’t want to do so hopefully this kind of treatment technique will be considered fun for the kids while still providing them with lots of calorie burning activity. I have never seen this used in a clinic but my committee members have expressed interest in handing out the brochure in their clinics with appropriate patients. I think that parents need to know that although exergaming is video game related it really is a great source of PA for all children. Like I have said in my project we are not going to stop kids playing video games we need to adapt and embrace this generation of technology lovers. Thanks girls!!!
atortori
Katherine!
Cool project! In a few of our past class I assignments, I thought of this idea to help with younger patients but found little research! However, you really showed me up with some great research! I also really loved how you included specific games for each gaming console that have create the most activity! Thank you for that and great idea!! I also like how instead of trying to reverse the trend involving the time kids spend inside/on the computer etc. that you adapted to it! Very PT of you! thanks great project!!
Ashley
llashley
Katherine,
Great work! The J and J pump it video was adorable!
Of course I’ve seen the more active video games, but I’d never heard it called Exergaming before. I think it’s a great idea. Video games are very popular and what kids want to be doing these days. In my experience, making kids play outside instead of playing video games doesn’t always go so well. I think you provided a great way to keep kids active while doing what they really want to do. I also think your brochure is a great resource for parents. Great project!
-Lindsey