Front Public Health. 2013 Dec 24;1:74. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2013.00074.

Active gaming as a mechanism to promote physical activity and fundamental movement skill in children.

Barnett LM1, Bangay S2, McKenzie S2, Ridgers ND3.

Author information

• 1School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
• 2School of Information Technology, Deakin University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
• 3Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.

A strategy for introducing physical activity into gaming has been through the development of active video games (AVG). Technologies such as the Microsoft Kinect and Nintendo Wii deploy sophisticated controllers which sense whole body motion through depth cameras, accelerometers, and pressure sensors. However, these are constrained to a finite but controlled indoor environment which may limit opportunities for physical activity and FMS practice. For example, whilst review evidence suggests AVG play can result in light-to-moderate intensity physical activity (9, 10), it is likely the modest physical activity provision is inadequate for helping children meet national recommendations (11, 12). There is some evidence that AVG play is associated with higher movement skill proficiency in young children (13), and while children believe they are developing skill (14), few demonstrable skill components have been observed (15).