Exercise or exergames are a new, challenging way to get young people moving, which also fits in with their world. These games are played by moving. You use your body instead of a ‘classic’ controller. You can also use attributes (e.g. dance mat, baseball bat, bicycle, etc.). Exergames, therefore, requires a physical effort. The entertainment of video games is thus combined with the pleasure of effort and physical competition between players.

Examples of exergames are Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Kinect, and Playstation Move. And much like Roblox scary games, some exergames can be played online.

In the research project ‘Move Towards Health – Exergames’, KHLeuven investigated the influence of exercise games on the health of young people. The research shows that playing exergames cannot replace traditional forms of physical activity. However, it can be a supplement to achieve the daily exercise standard, and /or a useful alternative if one cannot exercise (e.g. in bad weather, etc.).

In addition, exergames may motivate less active children to exercise more and reduce sedentary gaming in some young people. By playing exergames one consumes more energy than by sitting down to play games or watch TV. Sedentary gaming is often pointed out as one of the main causes of the sedentary lifestyle of young people.

Some observations and recommendations from the research.

1. Exergaming generally requires light to moderate physical exertion.

On average, exergames consume 3 to 4 MET (Metabolic Equivalent is the amount of energy that a certain physical effort costs compared to the required amount of energy at rest). That is a moderate physical effort, comparable to, for example, walking at 4.5 km per hour. The energy consumption of more intensive exergames is around 6 MET (e.g. dancing, boxing with Wii or Kinect). That is comparable to cycling at a speed of 15 km per hour. Exergames can therefore contribute to the fitness and health of young people in terms of energy consumption.
Sometimes direct effects are also observed in terms of health (e.g. decrease in BMI, increased functionality, and self-reliance in people with disabilities).

• You use more energy if you use both your upper and lower body while playing (e.g. dancing).
• You use more energy when you play together with others, but only when playing simultaneously (e.g. boxing), not when playing in turn (e.g. bowling).

2. It is important to play these games sufficiently frequently and for a longer period to take physical advantage of them: e.g. 3 times a week, for 1 hour.

Simply buying a console in the store and occasionally using it at home when one feels like it is insufficient to provide a health benefit.

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3. Young people prefer to play together, preferably with friends, but also with brothers or sisters.

• For girls, playing together is extra important. Boys also like to play together, but they also play alone more often.
• The younger one is, the more you like to play with your parents.
• One consumes more energy if one plays with several at the same time (e.g. boxing, dancing). If one takes turns playing, this is not the case (e.g. bowling, golf).

4. Although exergames certainly cannot replace normal sports practice, they still deserve a place at school and in the LO class.

• Young people are open to exergaming during times when they are bored and when they have nothing else to do (e.g. break, after-school care, study). If necessary, the school can make a few consoles available in a classroom to use during these moments. After all, it is better to move than to do nothing.
• For some young people, this can be an addition to daily exercise (e.g. young people who like to play together and who have no one at home to do this, young people who do not have money for a game console). In this way, young people can also get acquainted with a sport with which they would otherwise not or less easily come into contact (e.g. rugby, golf).
• Exergames are already used abroad to achieve movement and personal goals in the LO lessons.

Exergames must be selected with care so that they match the lesson objectives. In addition, it will also be important to acquire the necessary technical knowledge to use this medium.

A game like Just Dance could be used in the LO class to support the dance lessons. It is often labor-intensive for the LO teacher and difficult to devise and present choreographies himself. This game would be the perfect solution for this. Young people can dance in groups to the dance choreographies that are performed on the screen. The game is very popular with girls (and it is mainly girls who are open to the use of exergames during the lo lesson). The game also has potential in terms of energy consumption. A game console is sufficient to play the game.

5. Exergames can be given an additional place in a weight loss program, in addition to real sports/exercises because they can lower the barrier to moving (e.g. in the beginning to install the motivation to move, if one is too heavy to move smoothly, as a change in the program, etc.).

• Overweight young people like to play exergames as much as regular games. So it can be important to remove the sedentary alternative when using exergames, because otherwise, they may still choose the unhealthier alternative.
• Exergames can also be used to introduce young people to a sport they don’t know and which they can then take up later in real life.
• Exergames can also be used additionally if the weather is bad, or if no other movement alternative is available.

6. If these games are used in a controlled program, for example in the form of training (e.g. rehabilitation programs, programs against obesity, etc.), in which the games are selected to achieve certain objectives and the gaming behavior is stimulated and supervised (e.g. by a physiotherapist, dietician, etc.), then they can indeed have positive effects.

Consequently, exergames probably have the most potential in rehabilitation programs (e.g., children with cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, brain damage, blind children, etc.).

• Outside of commercial exergames, however, few exergames are tailored to a particular problem (e.g. cerebral palsy) or target group (e.g. elderly).
• Modified versions of existing exergames for children with disabilities have been created. For blind and visually impaired children there are, for example, VI Fit, VI Ski, VI Bowling, VI Tennis, Pet-N-Punch, etc. Tactile (e.g. vibrating controller) and auditory stimuli are used.