title: Competitive versus cooperative exergame play for African American adolescents' executive function skills: short-term effects in a long-term training intervention.
abstract: Exergames are videogames that require gross motor activity, thereby combining gaming with physical activity. This study examined the role of competitive versus cooperative exergame play on short-term changes in executive function skills, following a 10-week exergame training intervention. Fifty-four low-income overweight and obese African American adolescents were randomly assigned to a competitive exergame condition, a cooperative exergame condition, or a no-play control group. Youths in the competitive exergame condition improved in executive function skills more than did those in the cooperative exergame condition and the no-play control group. Weight loss during the intervention was also significantly positively correlated with improved executive function skills. The findings link competitive exergame play to beneficial cognitive outcomes for at-risk ethnic minority adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Children's Digital Media Center, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, USA. amanda.staiano@pbrc.edu
authors.forename: Amanda E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Staiano
authors.forename: Anisha A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Calvert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology*; D013997:Time Factors; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult