title: Impact of an active video game on healthy children's physical activity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This naturalistic study tests whether children receiving a new (to them) active video game spontaneously engage in more physical activity than those receiving an inactive video game, and whether the effect would be greater among children in unsafe neighborhoods, who might not be allowed to play outside.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were children 9 to 12 years of age, with a BMI >50th percentile, but <99th percentile; none of these children a medical condition that would preclude physical activity or playing video games. A randomized clinical trial assigned children to receiving 2 active or 2 inactive video games, the peripherals necessary to run the games, and a Wii console. Physical activity was monitored by using accelerometers for 5 weeks over the course of a 13-week experiment. Neighborhood safety was assessed with a 12 item validated questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no evidence that children receiving the active video games were more active in general, or at anytime, than children receiving the inactive video games. The outcomes were not moderated by parent perceived neighborhood safety, child BMI z score, or other demographic characteristics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide no reason to believe that simply acquiring an active video game under naturalistic circumstances provides a public health benefit to children.
authors.affiliation: Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. tbaranow@bcm.edu
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baranowski
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abdelsamad
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baranowski
authors.forename: Teresia Margareta
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Debbe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cerin
authors.forename: Tzu-An
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D018910:Video Games / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data