BALTIMORE (EGMN) – The Wii video-game system helped seniors burn calories and become more active in a pilot study of 24 adults aged 66-78 years.
Group members burned 17-176 kcal during 30-minute games of Wii baseball, tennis, or team or individual bowling, Elizabeth Orsega-Smith, Ph.D., reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
The participants were enrolled at senior centers in Delaware. They were mostly women (87%) with an average age of 72 years. Participants were independent, community dwelling, and healthy but overweight – their mean body mass index was 32.67 kg/m2.
The participants wore accelerometers on their wrists during the games, and the researchers calculated caloric expenditure from the readings. Caloric expenditure ranged from 22 kcal to 114 kcal for baseball, and from 17 kcal to 72 kcal for tennis. Caloric expenditure for team bowling ranged from 18 kcal to 89 kcal but was 20 kcal to 176 kcal for individual bowling.
Wii games may be an easy option for senior centers and care facilities trying to get older adults to become more active. “For the most part, the seniors were able to pick up the game pretty rapidly. They didn’t really have much difficulty in grasping the concept of using the controller and the motions that it takes to bowl, play tennis, or play baseball,” she said. One senior center already had one of the game consoles but did not have a staff member available to help seniors use it; the other center did not have one.
In addition to getting the seniors moving, the video games inspired some participants to get back into playing the real games. “There were a number of participants who may have bowled maybe 10, 15, even 20 years ago” and after the Wii sessions, began real-world bowling again at local alleys, Dr. Orsega-Smith said in an interview. In fact, for some participants who needed hip or knee replacements, “after doing the Wii bowling, they decided to go ahead and get those procedures done so they could [go real] bowling.”
The researchers are analyzing other measures of physical activity and general well-being collected during a Wii bowling tournament that took place from September 2009 to May 2010. “We were able to get measures on their physical activity levels, psychosocial levels, self-esteem, social support, and quality of life,” said Dr. Orsega-Smith, who is an associate professor in the department of health, nutrition, and exercise sciences at the University of Delaware, Newark.
Though the data are still being analyzed, some psychosocial aspects of the competition were apparent during the tournament, said Dr. Orsega-Smith. “They were able to gain social support from one another and were having a very enjoyable time ... . Some of the individuals who had cognitive deficits were playing in groups, and because they were interacting in a group, the other individuals were able to help them be successful in playing the Wii – doing some type of activity besides just sitting there.”
The researchers are planning additional tests for summer 2010. “What we’re planning to do this summer is ... to incorporate some functional tests of balance – chair stand tests, the Berg balance test, as well as the timed up and go test.” They also hope to incorporate some measures of gait to determine if it can be improved by the.
Dr. Orsega-Smith reported that she had no relevant financial conflict of interest.
Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Global Medical News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
