Stationary cycling exergame use among inactive children in the family home: a randomized trial

Exergames may be one way to increase child physical activity, but long term adherence has seen little research attention. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the usage of an exergame bike in comparison to a stationary bike in front of a TV across 3-months within a family home environment among children aged 10-14 years old. Seventy-three inactive children were recruited through advertisements and randomized to either the exergame condition (n = 39) or the standard bike condition (n = 34). Weekly bike use was recorded in a log-book. Both groups declined in bike use over time (t = 3.921, p < .01). Although the exergame group reported higher use (t = 2.0045, p < .05), this was most prominent during the first week. Overall, these results do not support exergames as a standalone physical activity intervention, and suggest that short duration examinations of exergames may be misleading.