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Background: Compared with traditional nonactive video games, exergaming contributes significantly to overall daily physical activity (PA) in experimental studies, but the association in observational studies is not clear. Methods: Data were available in the 2011 to 2012 wave of the Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study (N = 829). Multivariable sex-stratified models assessed the association between exergaming (1-3 times per month in the past year) and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity in the previous week, and the association between exergaming and meeting PA recommendations. Results: Compared with male exergamers, female exergamers were more likely to believe exergames were a good way to integrate PA into their lives (89% vs 62%, P = .0001). After we adjusted for covariates, male exergamers were not significantly different from male nonexergamers in minutes of PA. Female exergamers reported 47 more minutes of moderate PA in the previous week compared with female nonexergamers (P = .03). There was no association between exergaming and meeting PA recommendations. Conclusions: Exergaming contributes to moderate minutes of PA among women but not among men. Differences in attitudes toward exergaming should be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is not known if or how exercise behavior regulations (EBRs) relate to exergaming in adolescents. The study objectives were 1) to determine if EBRs differ between adolescents who do and do not exergame; and 2) among exergamers, to describe the associations between EBRs and exergame duration, intensity, and achieving physical activity (PA) guidelines. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in mailed self-report questionnaires completed by 1243 students (mean ± SDage = 16.8 ± 0.5 years; 43% boys). Results: In girls, those who exergamed scored higher than nonexergamers on introjected (mean ± SD = 1.9 ± 1.0 vs.1.6 ± 0.9; P = .001) and identified (mean ± SD = 3.1 ± .0 vs.2.9 ± 0.9; P = .049) regulation. Exergame intensity was associated with identified regulation [OR (95% CI) = 2.2 (1.0, 4.5)], minutes exergaming per week was associated with amotivation [β (95% CI) = 0.4 (-0.0, 0.8)], and achieving guidelines was associated with external [OR (95% CI) = 3.7 (1.0, 13.4)] and identified [OR (95% CI) = 5.6 (2.0, 16.0)] regulations. In boys who exergamed, intrinsic regulation was associated with exergame duration [β (95% CI) = -0.3 (-0.6, 0.0)]. Conclusions: Girls who exergame may have partially internalized exergaming as a PA behavior. Boys may prefer other types of PA such as team sports or other more traditional videogames over exergaming or they may not view exergaming as PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Less than 15% of children and adolescents participate regularly in physical activity (PA) and, with ever-increasing obesity, strategies to improve PA levels in youth are urgently needed. Exergaming offers a PA alternative that may be especially attractive in our increasingly technophilic society. However, there are no observational studies of exergaming in population-based samples of adolescents. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential sociodemographic, lifestyle, psychosocial, weight-related, and mental health correlates of exergaming as well as describe the type, timing, and intensity of exergaming in a population-based sample of adolescents. METHODS: Data on exergame use and potential sociodemographic, lifestyle, psychosocial, weight-related, and mental health correlates of exergaming were collected in mailed self-report questionnaires completed by 1241 grade 10 and 11 students from the Montreal area with a mean age of 16.8 years (SD = 0.05 years; 43% male) participating in the AdoQuest study. The independent correlates of exergaming were identified in multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: Nearly one-quarter (24%) of participants reported exergaming. Exergamers played 2 days per week on average, for ~50 minutes each bout; 73% of exergamers played at a moderate or vigorous intensity. Exergamers were more likely than nonexergamers to be girls, to play nonactive video games, to watch ≥2 hours of television per day, to be stressed about weight, and to be nonsmokers. CONCLUSIONS: Many adolescents exergame at intensity levels that could help them achieve current moderate-to-vigorous PA recommendations. Interventions that encourage exergaming may increase PA and decrease sedentary behavior in select youth subgroups, notably in girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]