ReviewJMIR serious games2023
Comparison of Exergames Versus Conventional Exercises on the Health Benefits of Older Adults: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in JMIR serious games, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 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
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of active video games for promoting physical activity: an umbrella review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Pooled it
- Benefits of Exergaming Regarding to Conventional Physical Therapies on Balance and Fall Risk in Prefrail and Frail Older People: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Trial
- Effectiveness of an exergame-based training program on physical and cognitive function in older adults with cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial in rural China.BMC geriatrics · 2025Trial
- Community Exergaming and Maintenance-Related Outcomes in Older Adults: Multi-Wave Observational Evaluation.JMIR aging · 2026Observational
- Active Video Gaming Intervention in Adults With Mobility Impairments: Concurrent Mixed Methods Single-Arm Pilot Study.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of various dosage parameters of Wii Fit Plus exergames for enhancing balance and postural control among people post-stroke: a systematic review protocol.JBI evidence synthesis · 2026Article
- Two Months of Active Video Game Training Improves Selected Lipid Profile Markers in Older Adults: A Preliminary Study.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mapping Research on Virtual Reality for Balance, Coordination, and Motor Rehabilitation: A Bibliometric Analysis with Topic Modeling.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Balance Assessment Using Gamified Digital Technology in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Mixed Methods Validation Study and Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- Sport performance in virtual worlds: a systematic review of sport simulation in neurological paralympic athletes and non-athlete populations.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- The effects of exergaming on executive functions in children with ADHD: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2026Review
- The effectiveness of serious games for training of attention and executive functions: a systematic review.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Development and Evaluation of a Monocular Camera-Based Mobile Exergame for at-Home Intervention in Individuals at High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR serious games · 2025Article
- Gaming Against Frailty: Effects of Virtual Reality-Based Training on Postural Control, Mobility, and Fear of Falling Among Frail Older Adults.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Effectiveness and acceptability of exergaming in people with mild cognitive impairment: protocol for an overview of systematic reviews and network meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Xbox Kinect Sports Effects on Cognition Status and Physical Performance in Physically Inactive Older Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Virtual reality solution to promote adapted physical activity in older adults: outcomes from VR2Care project exploratory study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Healthy community-living older adults' experiences with using a specially adapted virtual reality exercise game to promote physical activity-a pilot study.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Xbox Kinect Sports vs. Nintendo Switch Sports and Their Effects on Body Composition and Physical Performance in Older Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundConventional exercises (CEs) can provide health benefits for older adults, but the long-term exercise adherence rate is low. As an emerging, stimulating, and self-motivating strategy, exergames (EGs) are defined as combinations of exercises and games that users carry out through physical actions. They can promote exercise, but the health effects of EGs versus CEs on the physical function and mental health (cognitive function, depression, and quality of life) of older adults remain controversial.
objectiveThe aim of the study is to compare the health benefits of EGs versus those of CEs for the physical function and mental health of older adults.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted from the earliest available date to February 2023 in the following 6 databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. All English-language randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of EGs versus those of CEs on the physical function and mental health of older adults, with nearly same physical activity between the 2 interventions, were included. Risk of bias was independently evaluated by 2 authors using the Cochrane risk of bias in randomized trials tool. Two authors independently extracted data. We followed the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions to process and analyze the data for meta-analysis. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% CIs were used for continuous data, and random models were used for analyses.
resultsWe included 12 studies consisting of 919 participants in total. Of these, 10 studies were eventually included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that EGs versus CEs exhibited no significant differences in physical (P=.13; τ
conclusionsOur findings indicate no significant difference between EGs and CEs in improving the physical function and cognitive function of older adults. Future studies are required to compare the effects of EGs versus those of CEs on cognitive function according to cognitive status, quantify the "dose-effect" relationship between EGs and health benefits, and evaluate the effects of different types and devices of EGs with regard to the health benefits of older adults.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42022322734; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=322734.
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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.