Active Video Games and Appetite Control in Adolescents

July 12, 2019 updated by: Jean-Philippe Chaput, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Effects of Active Video Games on Energy Balance: a Randomized Crossover Study in Adolescents

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Video games have enormous mass appeal, are omnipresent in the daily schedule of most children and youth and have been linked to the obesity epidemic. The investigators research group recently reported that sedentary video game playing increases food intake in adolescents. Interestingly, the overconsumption of food associated with seated video game play was observed without increased sensations of hunger and appetite, as previously observed with television viewing. Active video games offer an appealing opportunity for increasing energy expenditure and promoting healthy body weight among children and youth who might otherwise be spending time in sedentary screen-based activities. However, significant increases in energy expenditure as a result of active video game play might be of little importance to energy balance if one compensates by increasing energy intake and/or decreasing physical activity. Studies to date have failed to measure energy intake so it is currently unknown the effects of active video games on daily energy balance.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study is to examine the acute effects of playing active video games on energy intake and expenditure.

HYPOTHESIS: The investigators hypothesize that the increase in energy expenditure promoted by active video games will be offset by compensatory adjustments in food intake and spontaneous physical activity subsequent to the intervention.

RESEARCH PLAN: With the use of a randomized crossover design, 30 normal-weight and 30 obese adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age will complete three 1-hour experimental conditions, namely (1) resting in a sitting position (control condition), (2) playing Xbox 360 (sedentary video game condition) and (3) playing Kinect (active video game condition), followed by an ad libitum lunch. The primary outcomes will be acute (24-h) and short-term (3-day) energy intake and expenditure. Food intake will be measured using an ad libitum test meal immediately following the intervention, a food menu for the remainder of the day and a dietary record for the subsequent 3-day period. Energy expenditure will be measured using indirect calorimetry during the intervention and an Actical accelerometer for the subsequent 3-day period. Secondary outcomes will include appetite sensations (visual analogue scales), stress markers (heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mental workload), and levels of appetite-related hormones and substrates (glucose, insulin, cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin).

RELEVANCE: The present study is innovative and likely to result in a number of new and important findings that can inform future recommendations. If the investigators confirm our hypothesis, the clinical implication will be to rethink the strategy of promoting active video games as an intervention tool for the prevention of overweight and obesity in youth.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L1
        • Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

13 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescent between the ages of 13 and 17

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current smoker
  • Unstable body weight (±4 kg) during the 6 months preceding testing
  • Excessive intake of alcohol (>10 drinks/week) or substance abuse
  • Metabolic disease (e.g. thyroid disease, heart disease, diabetes, etc)
  • Celiac disease or vegetarian
  • Medication use that could interfere with the outcome variables
  • Highly restrained eating behavior
  • Irregular eating pattern (e.g. skipping breakfast)
  • Unfamiliar with the use of video games
  • Inability to comply with the protocol

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active video gaming
Playing Kinect
Behavioral: Active video gaming
Behavioral: Passive video gaming
Behavioral: Resting
Experimental: Passive video gaming
Playing Xbox 360
Behavioral: Active video gaming
Behavioral: Passive video gaming
Behavioral: Resting
Experimental: Resting
Stay seated on a comfortable chair
Behavioral: Active video gaming
Behavioral: Passive video gaming
Behavioral: Resting

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Energy Intake and Energy Expenditure (Over 24 Hours and Over 3 Days)
Time Frame: Acute (24 hours) and short-term (3 days)
Energy intake (kJ) was measured using an ad libitum test meal immediately following the 3 experimental conditions, a food menu for the remainder of the day, and a dietary record for the subsequent 3-day period. Energy expenditure was measured by indirect calorimetry during the 3 experimental conditions, and by using an Actical accelerometer for the subsequent 3-day period.
Acute (24 hours) and short-term (3 days)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Appetite Sensation
Time Frame: 1 day
Visual analogue scale to assess appetite feelings. The scale is 100 mm in length and ranges from 0 mm (not hungry at all) to 100 mm (extremely hungry).
1 day
Stress Marker
Time Frame: 1 day
Mental effort assessed on a visual analogue scale (100 mm in length). It ranges from 0 mm (no mental effort at all) to 100 mm (extremely mentally challenging).
1 day
Levels of Appetite-related Hormones
Time Frame: 1 hour
Profiles of glucose, insulin, cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin assessed at every 10 minutes during each 1-hour experimental condition.
1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Collaborators

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jean-Philippe Chaput, PhD, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 30, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 1, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

August 2, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 12, 2019

Last Verified

July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 272112

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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