Active Video Games for Improving Mental Health and Physical Fitness—An Alternative for Children and Adolescents during Social Isolation: An Overview

Abstract

The aim of this study was to synthesize the evidence on the effects of active video games (AVGs) on mental health, physical fitness and body composition of children and adolescents. A search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed; MEDLINE (by Ovid); SportDiscus, Cochrane library systematic reviews (CENTRAL) and EMBASE with no language restrictions during October 2020. Reviews on the use of AVGs were included in the study. We use the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) scale to analyze the methodological quality of the studies. Seventeen systematic reviews and meta-analyzes were included on the effects of AVGs with 30 to 4728 children and adolescents of both sexes with ages ranging from 6 to 19 years. In five studies, the population was overweight or obese. Regarding the quality, 12 studies were of moderate quality, two had high quality, two had low quality and one showed very low quality. The analyzed data indicate that the use of AVGs with a frequency of 1 to 3 times a week with durations of between 10 and 90 min per day shows positive effects on mental health and physical functioning. There was moderate quality evidence that AVGs can result in benefits for self-esteem, increased energy expenditure, physical activity and reduced body mass index in children and adolescents who used AVGs in the home environment. Further research is needed on this tool to help in the process of social isolation and consequently in promoting health and well-being.

Leisure and Problem Gaming Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents During School Closures Caused by COVID-19 in Hong Kong: Quantitative Cross-sectional Survey Study

“…If conducted for the right amount of time and in the appropriate contexts, gaming can be a healthy behavior. It is exciting to learn that some functional games have been developed specifically to promote mental well-being during the pandemic [ 61 ]. For instance, a game named Shadow’s Edge was developed based on empirical and theory-based foundations, such as narrative therapy and artistic expression, to help players cope with isolation and fear during school closures [ 62 ].…”

Gamification for the Improvement of Diet, Nutritional Habits, and Body Composition in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Benefits have been obtained in the improvement of healthy habits at the level of physical activity and nutrition in adults [ 7 , 11 , 12 ]. Gamification strategies have also been used in adolescents to improve sexual education [ 13 , 14 ] or to improve healthy habits, such as physical exercise and nutrition [ 15 , 16 ]. Many studies even focus on these interventions from an early age, for example, through interactive video games that improved physical activity [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], increased the number of daily steps [ 20 , 21 ], or improved cardiovascular parameters in the school population [ 22 ].…”

Educational and Social Exergaming: A Perspective on Physical, Social, and Educational Benefits and Pitfalls of Exergaming at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Afterwards

“…As summarized by Table 1, exergaming can unfold several positive and negative effects on the physical dimension. Importantly, meta-analytic results indicate that exergaming can lead to substantially higher physical activity than sedentary behavior (Santos et al, 2021). In addition, strong correlations between exergaming and increases in energy expenditure were reported in several studies (Sween et al, 2014).…”

“…Exergaming can elicit several nonphysical (psychological) effects on the motivational, emotional, and cognitive level in clinical and nonclinical populations (for reviews, see Joronen et al, 2017;Lee et al, 2017;Stanmore et al, 2017;Santos et al, 2021). Prominent theoretical accounts to explain psychological effects and correlates of social exergaming include self-determination theory, social cognitive theory, theory of planned behavior, and social identity theory (e.g., Nasuti and Rhodes, 2013;Marker and Staiano, 2015).…”

“…Physical activity and exercising can promote health and well-being for people of all ages, but worldwide, recommended levels of physical activity are not reached by about 80% of adolescents (Guthold et al, 2020) and by almost 30% of adults (Guthold et al, 2018). This problem is exacerbated by restrictions on daily life and on physical activity associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (López-Bueno et al, 2020;Rhodes et al, 2020;Santos et al, 2021). Positive associations were found between physical activity and participation in community sports, access to sports and recreational facilities, and time outdoors (Sterdt et al, 2014).…”