Schoolnurse’s Weblog

Childhood obesity is an epidemic problem in the United States, and lack of exercise contributes to this issue.  One goal of Physical Education in schools is to promote a life-long physical activity for health and fitness. Physical Education and other school based exercise programs are ways to battle obesity, but any physical activity can put students at risk for injury.  In addition, not all children have full access to a PE program in school. Students with injuries or chronic disabilities are often prevented from fully participating in PE due to lack of appropriate adaptations.  An educator’s goal may be for students to have a safe and effective Physical Education program, but children are more concerned with enjoying physical activity.  If students are to develop enduring exercise habits, educators need to make sure that they use strategies that provide students with enjoyable learning activities.  This includes teaching motor skills and the value of exercise for health and fitness.  Is there technology that can be used to teach children to enjoy exercise?  The Nintendo Wii, a video game platform, gives users an alternative to sedentary video games by providing an opportunity for exergaming. Exergaming is a term used to describe the use of video games in an exercise activity.  The Nintendo Wii, has interactive exercise games including the  Wii Sport and Wii Fit programs.  The Wii has an interactive video game console that uses motion sensor controls to mimic sport activity such as tennis, boxing, bowling, baseball, and even hula hooping.  It requires little space, works on most televisions, is customizable, and has various difficulty levels.  The Wii can be used to encourage children, particularly those who are obese, sedentary, or disabled, to participate in exercise, if they find using it enjoyable.

In this study the Wii gaming device was investigated as a tool that can be used to promote engagement and enjoyment in physical activity for 4^th and 5^th grade students.  Findings from a questionnaire and focus group showed that the children enjoyed the Wii games.

Review of Literature

Any time children are engaged in physical activity there is a risk for injury, so it is important for designers of any exercise program to have safety in mind.  Injuries in Physical Education are on the rise; there has been a 150% increase in injuries during the period from 1997 to 2007. Elementary school-aged children (5-10 years old) had almost double the number of head injuries, compared with other injuries (Nelson, Alhajj, Yard, Comstock, & McKenzie, 2009).

Technology such as the Nintendo Wii is meant to entertain through interactive gaming, but can have unanticipated physical fitness benefits, and change attitudes toward exercise (Klein & Simmers, 2009). More than 83 percent of children in the U.S. have a video game console in their home, and those who have them play an average of 49 minutes a day (Roberts, Foeher, & Rideout, 2005). Integrating familiar technology into education, and using gaming in particular can engage students in (Prensky, 2002; Prensky, 2005). The Wii can capitalize on children’s motivation to play video games and provide a healthy alternative to regular video games, (Daley, 2009). Virtual simulation such as that provided by the Wii can be used to engage learners in new ways (Stewart, Ezell, DeMartino, Rifai, & Gatterson, 2006). The Wii can be used to motivate students in Physical Education and promote exercise enjoyment (Trout, & Christie, 2007). Playing active video games, such as the Wii, on a regular basis may have positive effects on children’s overall physical activity levels (Mhurchu, et.al., 2008). Studies give conflicting results in terms of the quality and intensity of exercise obtained through video game such as the Wii. One study shows that while playing virtual sports using the Wii, users expended more energy than if they had played a sedentary game, but not as much as playing the sport itself (Graves, Stratton, Ridgers, Cable, 2007). Other studies show that the Wii can be effective in promoting moderate intensity exercise that is comparable to walking or jogging (Graf, 2009; Maddison, et.al., 2007).  Daley (2009) states that some video exercise games do promote the recommended levels of exercise, but more quality research is needed to determine the effectiveness and clinical relevance of using videogames as exercise tools.

A questionnaire called the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) is an exercise specific measure of enjoyment developed by Kendzierski, & DeCarlo (1991).  The PACES questionnaire has been successfully used with children (Crocker, Bouffard, & Gessaroli, 1995) ,and modified to be more useful in children (Motl, et al., 2001).  Since then the PACES has been shown to be a reliable and valid tool available to measure activity enjoyment in children (Paxton et. al., 2008; Moore, et. al., 2009).

Methodology and Findings

The purpose of this study is to provide information on how 4^th and 5^th grade students will perceive using the Nintendo Wii for exercise, particularly if they find it enjoyable.  An after school program, the “Wii Club”, was formed and meet biweekly for three weeks.  Students were randomly chosen to participate from 4^th and 5^th graders who did not achieve results that were in the healthy zone on a reliable physical fitness test administered in physical education class called a fitnessgram.  The Cooper Institute fitnessgram has been shown to be a reliable measurement of student fitness. (Gehring, 2002; Mahar et.al., 1998).

During the “Wii Club” students had the opportunity to use the Wii to exercise.  After having the opportunity to use the Wii, students attended a focus group, and also completed the PACES questionnaire regarding enjoyment of the activities they experienced.   Both the questionnaire and focus group showed that the Wii provided an enjoyable exercise experience.  Children enjoyed the non threatening approach to exercise.  One child stated, “The Wii does not judge you if you make a mistake.  You just move on and keep practicing”. The information from this study will be used to plan enjoyable and safe exercise programs for at risk students, the sedentary, the overweight, and disabled students.

References for my research can be found here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgf22spt_440d26jbjdk