Development of an exergame to deliver a sustained dose of high-intensity training: formative pilot randomized trial

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McBain, T, Weston, M, Crawshaw, P, Haighton, C and Spears, I ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4982-2841, 2018. Development of an exergame to deliver a sustained dose of high-intensity training: formative pilot randomized trial. JMIR Serious Games, 6 (1): e4. ISSN 2291-9279

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.2196/games.7758

Abstract

Background: Sport science can play a critical role in reducing health inequalities. The inverse relationship between life expectancy, cardiorespiratory fitness, and socioeconomic status could be addressed by performing high-intensity training (HIT), delivered in a class salient and accessible approach. Commercially available exergames have shown encouraging compliance rates but are primarily designed for entertainment purposes rather than focusing on health-related outcomes. A serious game tailored toward delivering an exercise stimulus, while reducing the aversive protocols associated with HIT, could be beneficial to engage and improve health outcomes in socially deprived males.

Objective: The aims of this study were to develop an exergame capable of delivering HIT and evaluate the effect on selected health outcomes in men recruited in regions of socioeconomic deprivation.

Methods: We conducted an exploratory trial in our target population, and participants were allocated to intervention (n=14) or control groups (n=10) by third-party minimization. The intervention was a 6-week training program consisting of three sessions of exergaming per week. The sessions involved a structured warm-up, then brief intermittent repetitions in the form of boxing rounds (10 s, 20 s, and 30 s) against their peers with a work/rest ratio of 0.25.

Results: Retention to the intervention was 87.5% (21/24). Over the duration of the intervention, session attendance was 67.5% (170/252); repetition mean and peak heart rates (% of maximal) and session ratings of perceived exertion (AU, arbitrary units) were 86.3 (5.4%), 89.9 (6.1%), and 7.5 (2.2 AU), respectively. The effect of the intervention, when compared with the control, was a likely small beneficial improvement in predicted maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max, 3.0; 90% confidence limits ±2.6%). Effects on body mass, waist circumference, and blood pressure were either trivial or unclear.

Conclusions: Over the 6-week intervention, the exergame delivered a consistent and sustained dose of HIT, with some beneficial effects on aerobic fitness in the target population.

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03477773; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03477773 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yDLgVs35)

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	JMIR Serious Games
Creators:	McBain, T., Weston, M., Crawshaw, P., Haighton, C. and Spears, I.
Publisher:	JMIR Publications
Date:	2018
Volume:	6
Number:	1
ISSN:	2291-9279
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.2196/games.7758 DOI
Rights:	©Thomas McBain, Matthew Weston, Paul Crawshaw, Catherine Haighton, Iain Spears. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (http://games.jmir.org), 27.03.2018. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Serious Games, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://games.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	09 Aug 2019 13:24
Last Modified:	09 Aug 2019 13:24
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/37209