ArticleCJC open2020
Are Active Video Games Effective at Eliciting Moderate-Intensity Physical Activity in Children, and Do They Enjoy Playing Them?
Article in CJC open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Effect of Exergaming on BMI and Fitness in Children and Adolescents With Obesity: A Systematic Review.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions targeting children and young people's physical activity behavior at home: A systematic review.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Role of Institutionalization in Interoception, Emotion Regulation, and Prosocial Behavior in Preschool Children.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- The impact of different types of screen time on school-aged children's quality of life and participation.The British journal of occupational therapy · 2023Article
- Testing the Mystic School Mobile Application to Promote Active Commuting to School in Spanish Adolescents: The PACO Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Improving Serious Games to Tackle Childhood Obesity.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Can Physical Activity in Immersive Virtual Reality Be Attractive and Have Sufficient Intensity to Meet Health Recommendations for Obese Children? A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite current physical activity (PA) guidelines, children spend an average of 1-3 hours/day playing video games. Some video games offer physically active components as part of gameplay. We sought to determine if these active video games (AVGs) can elicit at least moderate PA in children, identify game elements important for PA, and determine if they are fun to play.
methodsTwenty children aged 8 to 16 years underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing to determine their heart rate (HR) at ventilatory threshold. Participants played 2 different AVGs, and the gaming time that each participant's HR was above the HR thresholds for moderate and vigorous PA was determined. Gameplay elements that supported or inhibited active gameplay were also identified. Participants also completed questionnaires on physical activity, game engagement, and game experience.
resultsThe
conclusionsAVGs can provide at least moderate PA and are enjoyable to play, but most popular video games do not incorporate active components. The implementation of government policies and a rating system concerning PA in video games may help address the widespread sedentary lifestyle of children.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.