Dar Alon1, Caio Victor Sousa1, Tom Baranowski2, Tiago V Barreira3, Romina Cabrera-Perez1, Kelly Chiu4, Austin Fernandez1, Amy Fleischman5, Shirley Huang6, Jungyun Hwang7, Melanie C Green8, I-Min Lee9, Kelly Lee1, Sarah Lessard10, Lynne L Levitsky11, Aika Misawa1, Farzad Noubary12, Ronald Samuels13, Kyung Jin Sun1, Debbe Thompson14, Amy S Lu15. 1. Health Technology Lab, College of Arts, Media, and Design, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States. 2. Distinguished Emeritus Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates St, Houston, TX 77030, United States. 3. Exercise Science Department, Syracuse University, 820 Comstock Ave, Syracuse, NY 13244, United States. 4. Harvard Medical School, Primary Care Martha Eliot, 75 Bickford St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02478, United States. 5. Harvard Medical School, Optimal Wellness for Life Clinic, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, United States. 6. Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, United States. 7. Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States. 8. Department of Communication, University at Buffalo, 359 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260, United States. 9. Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, United States. 10. Research Division, Joslin Diabetes Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, United States. 11. Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, 175 Cambridge St 5(th) Floor, Boston, MA 02114, United States. 12. Department of Health Sciences, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States. 13. Children's Hospital Primary Care Center, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States. 14. USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Avenue, Houston, TX 77030, United States. 15. Health Technology Lab, College of Arts, Media, and Design, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, United States. Electronic address: a.lu@northeastern.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although physical activity (PA) has been shown in helping prevent and treat obesity, current PA interventions are still not effective in ameliorating the obesity epidemic. Additional forms of PA need to be investigated to improve PA engagement and outcomes. We hypothesize that pairing a narrative (i.e., story) with an active video game (AVG), a less traditional form of PA, will increase participant engagement in PA. This paper presents the rationale, implementation, and pilot results of a study assessing the effect of narrative's impact on PA and a series of other health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the rationale, implementation, and pilot results of a study assessing the effect of narrative's impact on PA and a series of other health outcomes. METHODS/ DESIGN: The Active Video Game Study is a six-month randomized controlled single-blind trial projected to include 210 participants. The intervention strategy will pair a narrative to an active video game (AVG). Participants will be randomized into 3 groups: condition A [Narrative + AVG], condition B [AVG Only], and condition C [Control]. Participants will undergo three in-person data collection visits over the course of six months. Inclusion criteria are that children are between the ages of 8-12 and have a BMI ≥ 85%. The primary outcome is change in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Secondary outcome measures include change in BMI percentile, fasting insulin and glucose, lipid panel, C-reactive protein, and cognitive function. A pilot trial of n = 6 was conducted to help develop procedures and address problems that could arise in the main trial. DISCUSSION: Successful completion of this study will provide the empirical basis for novel intervention and design strategies to enhance the impact of AVGs on long-term MVPA.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Although physical activity (PA) has been shown in helping prevent and treat obesity, current PA interventions are still not effective in ameliorating the obesity epidemic. Additional forms of PA need to be investigated to improve PA engagement and outcomes. We hypothesize that pairing a narrative (i.e., story) with an active video game (AVG), a less traditional form of PA, will increase participant engagement in PA. This paper presents the rationale, implementation, and pilot results of a study assessing the effect of narrative's impact on PA and a series of other health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the rationale, implementation, and pilot results of a study assessing the effect of narrative's impact on PA and a series of other health outcomes. METHODS/ DESIGN: The Active Video Game Study is a six-month randomized controlled single-blind trial projected to include 210 participants. The intervention strategy will pair a narrative to an active video game (AVG). Participants will be randomized into 3 groups: condition A [Narrative + AVG], condition B [AVG Only], and condition C [Control]. Participants will undergo three in-person data collection visits over the course of six months. Inclusion criteria are that children are between the ages of 8-12 and have a BMI ≥ 85%. The primary outcome is change in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Secondary outcome measures include change in BMI percentile, fasting insulin and glucose, lipid panel, C-reactive protein, and cognitive function. A pilot trial of n = 6 was conducted to help develop procedures and address problems that could arise in the main trial. DISCUSSION: Successful completion of this study will provide the empirical basis for novel intervention and design strategies to enhance the impact of AVGs on long-term MVPA.
Authors: Moderator Tom Baranowski; Amy Shirong Lu; Richard Buday; Elizabeth J Lyons; Jesse Schell; Carmen Russoniello Journal: Games Health J Date: 2013-09-27
Authors: Allana G LeBlanc; Jean-Philippe Chaput; Allison McFarlane; Rachel C Colley; David Thivel; Stuart J H Biddle; Ralph Maddison; Scott T Leatherdale; Mark S Tremblay Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-06-14 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Peter T Katzmarzyk; Tiago V Barreira; Stephanie T Broyles; Catherine M Champagne; Jean-Philippe Chaput; Mikael Fogelholm; Gang Hu; William D Johnson; Rebecca Kuriyan; Anura Kurpad; Estelle V Lambert; Carol Maher; José Maia; Victor Matsudo; Tim Olds; Vincent Onywera; Olga L Sarmiento; Martyn Standage; Mark S Tremblay; Catrine Tudor-Locke; Pei Zhao; Timothy S Church Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2013-09-30 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Alexandra Monashefsky; Dar Alon; Aleksandra Baran; Rashmi Borah; Kelly Lee; Emma McGarrity; Harshita Menon; Caio Sousa; Neha Swaminathan; Amy S Lu Journal: Public Health Pract (Oxf) Date: 2022-04-27