Exergaming: The True Benefits
Exergaming is a relatively new idea so it is natural that there would be some speculation regarding the effectiveness of exergaming and whether or not it truly has any positive effects at all. Even noted exercise researchers Nan Zeng and Zao Gao, who promote the benefits of exergaming as part of a school based physical education program, are not ready to confirm the long-term benefits of exergaming versus more traditional team sports. In an article called “Exergaming and Obesity in Youth: Current Perspectives” Zeng and Gao worry that “… the evidence regarding its effectiveness on health-related outcomes… remains unclear.” But despite those reservations, there is actually plenty of evidence that exergaming is extremely effective in improving health.
Exergaming without a doubt increases the physical activity of kids who play them compared to other games. Typical videogames are sedentary and cause kids to sit on the couch and watch a screen for hours on end. This plays a part in kids continuously missing the recommended sixty minutes of physical activity they are supposed to get each day. The numbers are shown in the article, “Impact of exergaming on young children’s School Day Energy expenditure and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels” which said, “research indicated only 42% of U.S. children aged 6–11 years and 8% of adolescents participated in the recommended 60 min of MVPA per day”. While this shows some kids are able to reach this benchmark it is concerning that more than fifty percent of children do not. Exergaming however can easily remedy this. Exergaming combines the technology kids love while forcing them to get off the couch and be physically active in order to progress in the game. Unlike typical videogames, exergames requires kids to actually move around in order for the character on the screen to move and earn points. Utilizing this technology in school will dramatically increase the amount of physical activity kids get each day and help them reach that sixty-minute mark.
Exergaming appeals to the children of today’s world. While the typical outdoor games of tag or manhunt would have appealed to past generations this generation tends to prefer video games that include physical activity such as Just Dance or the Kinect games for Xbox. These games incorporate the physical activity kids need in order to stay healthy and the video gaming aspect that they enjoy. Exergames make kids be physically active by moving their arms, legs and moving and jumping around in order to advance through the game. These types of games are more motivating to today’s children because of the challenges that are present and ever changing within the game and the ability to always increase your scores. Motivation is an important factor when it comes to exercising and being physically active and a study was conducted on what causes people to stick to an exercise regimen or physical activity. The article based on that study entitled “Intrinsic Motivation and Exercise Adherence” said, “… competence and enjoyment motives were predictive of greater adherence and attendance to one’s chosen activity.” So, for kids they find video games and technology to be enjoyable and motivating. Those things are easily incorporated into exergaming meaning that since the kids find it enjoyable, they are motivated and more likely to stick with exergaming causing them to continue to be physically active. It is important to remember that the best form of physical activity for kids is the one they are willing to actually stick to.
The physical activity children get through exergaming has just as many health benefits as a more typical form of physical activity has. Exergaming allows kids to participate in light physical activity. We have a preconceived notion that the only form of physical activity that has any real health benefits would be heavy physical activity however a study done by Minghui Quan, Zachary Pope and Zan Gao proved otherwise, “… LPA is independently and positively associated with improved health outcomes in children and adolescents, including reduced total body fat mass, some cardiometabolic risk factors, and improved body bone health, in addition to cognitive function improvements…” The amount of health benefits exergaming has can be surprising to many of us however exergaming really is not much different than the physical activity kids would typically get. A surprising benefit is the fact that exergames help improve cognition. This improvement will help students in school because their brains will be more ready and open to learning. In addition, being physically active has been proven to improve brain function and kids who are often physically active have better grades and overall school performance.
It is understandable when you first think of exergaming it comes off as an odd or even unconventional way of combating childhood obesity however perhaps we should take a look at some of the unconventional things us adults do to reduce inactivity. Since many of us are stuck working at desks we often incorporate things such as standing desks, bike desks and yoga ball chairs to help reduce our sedentary lifestyles. When you really think about it, each and every one of those things is unconventional and has less proof of their benefits than there is for the benefits of exergaming. Overall exergaming solves the problem of childhood obesity while also being fun and enjoyable to the kids playing the games. It has obviously been proven without a doubt that exergaming would be a perfect activity to help kids increase their daily physical activity.
References
Gao, Z., Pope, Z., Eun Lee, J., Stodden, D., Roncesvalles, N., Pasco, D., Huang, C. C., & Feng, D. (2016, November 24). Impact of exergaming on young children’s School Day Energy expenditure and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels. Journal of Sport and Health Science. Retrieved March 7, 2023
Quan, M., Pope, Z., & Gao, Z. (2018, September 25). Examining young children’s physical activity and sedentary behaviors in an exergaming program using accelerometry. MDPI. Retrieved March 7, 2023
Ryan, R. M., Frederick, C. M., Lepes, D., Rubio, N., & Sheldon, K. M. (n.d.). Intrinsic Motivation and Exercise Adherence. Retrieved April 8, 2023
Zeng, N., & Gao, Z. (2022, November 23). Exergaming and obesity in youth: Current perspectives. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved April 11, 2023
Dev
Joe Gramigna
alexmoran17
alivewit55
americangods01
anonymous123
Anonymous
azntaco
belldere
bigcounrty609
bigfoot9
bj112295
blueee04
breadpatrol99
brxttyb
calamariii
cfalover
charlieclover
cherries267
chickendinner
chickennugget246
chickennugget444
clevelandbrown03
cocochanel715
comatosefox
crossanlogan
cswilliams15
dancingueen
davidbdale
disneylover2002
doglover846
dontquoteme187
douglasadams525
dt2018
faded26
fatjoe000
friendoftacos
frogs02
fromcasablanca
fulcrum66
g00dsoup
giants19
gingerbreadman27
girlno3
gobirds115
goodmusician440
gracchusbabeuf
hiralp365
ifurreadingthisits2l8
ilovedunkinoverstarbucks
ilovenas
imaspookyghost
inspireangels
JalenHurts4Mvp
jasrielle2
jcirrs
jonnyb25
eagles21
kilotoon
kingofcamp
krackintheneck
Philip Ebenezer
Lily4Pres
littlecow24
ljkvng34
lokiofasgard24
luckyleprechaun1
marinebio18
mellowtacos
miliwawa
minutemen14
mossmacabre
music0392
mymomshouldhavenamedmegrace
ndb1996
neferpitou626
nugget114
oatmealvibes
ohearnj8
palal24
peachesxo
philsfan1133
pinkheart84
pinkmonkey32
pitandthependulum22
queenrandom04
RowanAnnouncer
Rowan27
rowanluver29
rowanstudent6
saltysurfer322
saycheese03
Senpai Pio
sinatraman17
sixfortyfive645
sortableelms
spaghettitacosforthesoul
strawberryfields4
suedejackson
sunflower0311
sunshinegirl457
Shazammm
tarheel1999
teddysdoggydaddy
thatwonguyy
themildewmuncher7
Public Display Name
thirdlady226
tlap23
tmjj4345
toastedflatbread22
tpaz1
tristanb50
twofoursixohtwo
tyblicky2001
venom2929
vicarij0
wakeup5am
Water
wildcuttlefish
wizzard201
xchuki
Lunaduna
zeek
ziggy026
zinny11
zipemup1
zoeyzoey0210
zzbrd2822
Counterintuitive Spring 2023 
Professor, I can’t find a suitable “Worthy Opponent.” Can you help?
LikeLike
Here’s a Reply to your Rebuttal Rewrite post. Did you get an email notification?
LikeLike
I did get an email. I am actually having a very hard time finding a “Worthy Opponent” which is why I have not started this paper yet. Would you be able to help point me in the right direction?
LikeLike
Never mind, I believe I was able to find a decent “Worth Opponent”
LikeLike
For feedback I would like to know what I can add to this argument. I am just under the word count and want to be able to add more without adding fluff.
LikeLike
P1.
—Starts really slowly.
—I understand the impulse to review all that has gone before, but . . .
—If your Rebuttal Argument is worth 1000 words, you’ll need them.
—Can you start strong, with
—Doesn’t that quickly and effectively introduce BOTH the positives and the hesitations you want to illustrate?
—Follow that with:
—Follow that with:
P2.
—This is a really confusing paragraph.
—What you promised in your Introduction is that you would demonstrate the health benefits of exergaming, but you start out a world away from that.
—You cite an article that promises, by its title, to share some benefits of exergaming on activity level, but the quote you pull instead complains about low activity levels in youth overall.
—Then you complain that video games might wrongly take the blame.
—Then you finally suggest we should ALLY with videogames to increase our kids’ physical activity.
—So . . . maybe you introduce this section differently.
—If you start with “Exergames WITHOUT DOUBT increase the physical activity of kids who play them COMPARED TO how much they move when playing OTHER GAMES!,” then whatever your experts said about kids missing the 60-minute mark could be mitigated by playing exergames at school.
P3.
—Right.
—If you’re looking for more evidence (and your comment indicates you ARE), do a Google Scholar search for “exercise adherence” or similar phrases. The concept that will benefit you is that the BEST physical exercise regimen for ANYONE is the one that THEY WILL STICK TO! Ten minutes of humiliation in baseball might cause a kid to swear off team sports forever. But ten SESSIONS of an exercise game in which she gets some activity, achieves small goals, feels empowered, enjoys improving, and shows positive health outcomes, might be the best way to engage a traditionally-reluctant physical activity participant.
P4.
—If you’re looking for additional “material” to avoid wasting words on boilerplate fluff, take a harder look at this source, Sunflower. The authors make apparently substantial claims of health benefits to which you devote a very small quotation. Your explanation afterwards isn’t harmful, but it’s not vivid, either. I sense there’s more to make of the findings of this study.
P5.
—This is an odd use of a source, Sunflower.
—You present the article as if it has something new and valuable to add (“In addition,” you say) regarding “cognition and academic performance.”
—But then, the quote you offer looks backwards to other studies.
—Do Lindberg, Seo, and Lainethe themselves have evidence of value to offer?
—Do they support the claim that “challenging puzzles . . . [unwittingly] improve children’s cognition “?
—If you attended class on TUE APR 04 https://compclass2021.com/agendas/21-class/ you’ll understand why I’m saying the last sentences of your P5 commit the sin of pointing out the scenery once it’s too late. If you prep us for
BEFORE you provide the evidence, we’ll know what to look for!
P6.
—I see why you’re asking for more material to avoid fluff, Sunflower. Your conclusion paragraph is already pretty fluffy.
—Another recommendation for material would be a comparison between OUR OWN ADULT sedentary natures and the odd strategies we’ve chosen to REDUCE INACTIVITY. Can you think of any?
—Standing desks: https://www.google.com/search?q=standing+desk&tbm=isch&chips=q:standing+desk,g_1:laptop:7-vEGQ0L1tQ%3D&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjayZXcjrH-AhVmCFkFHdq_DXkQ4lYoBXoECAEQOA&biw=947&bih=458#imgrc=OvUzLcKWBPPOvM
—Bike Desks: https://www.lifespanfitness.com/products/unity-bike-desk-for-adults?variant=39972265033909¤cy=USD&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Google%20US%20Feed&utm_content=Unity%20Bike%20Desk%20For%20Adults&wickedsource=google&wickedid=CjwKCAjw3POhBhBQEiwAqTCuBnThwaiUVYDV0tdB3xsyZttlh6li7YO69LlqZSgnL3loXnME3_G7jhoCgl8QAvD_BwE&wickedid=&wv=3.1&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googleperformancemaxads&utm_campaign=_&utm_content=_c_&utm_term=_&gclid=CjwKCAjw3POhBhBQEiwAqTCuBnThwaiUVYDV0tdB3xsyZttlh6li7YO69LlqZSgnL3loXnME3_G7jhoCgl8QAvD_BwE
—Yoga Ball chairs: https://yogibo.com/products/yogabo?variant=31429608472642¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=19146923037&utm_content=&utm_term=&gadid=&gclid=CjwKCAjw3POhBhBQEiwAqTCuBk2kpoDVko_CMB3cJVp51gdrKxILFTpKUAWtMW_ZwjV7CR8rwSGp5BoCYGcQAvD_BwE
Does that help, Sunflower? Please let me know. This is [supposed to be] a conversation. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you so much professor! I will look over these sources and make the necessary changes. Just so I am clear when you suggest comparing our own adult sedentary natures and the odd strategies, we choose to reduce inactivity are you saying I could try and incorporate that into my existing argument?
LikeLike
Mostly. What I’m suggesting is a clever use of an entirely RHETORICAL tactic. The fact that adults feel the need to stand at our desks, or bike at our desks, or balance ourselves on balls at our desks, is that WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR BODY MOTION at our mostly stationary (if not strictly speaking seated) jobs. We use strategies to incorporate balance, muscle motion, even aerobics, into our adult lives, so why would we object to a solution for our kids that shares the same strategy?
See? It doesn’t prove ANYTHING. But it distracts readers with a relevant analogy.
Thanks for asking. I love our give-and-take.
LikeLike
Thank you for clarifying this!
LikeLike
Hi professor, I would like a regrade on this. I also had a quick question about using the titles of articles in paragraphs. Are we supposed to italicize the titles or put them in quotes? Thank you!
LikeLike
You probably asked me this after class, Sunflower, but the answer, for the record is:
1. Use italics for titles of publications, such as The Journal of Italics
2. Use quotation marks for articles, such as: “Why Do We Still Use Italics?”
LikeLike
Very significant improvements (including the inclusion of “exercise adherence” as a topic). Much stronger than the first draft.
Regraded.
LikeLike