“Not just another Wii training”: a graded Wii protocol to increase physical fitness in adolescent girls with probable developmental coordination disorder-a pilot study

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescents with low motor competence participate less in physical activity and tend to exhibit decreased physical fitness compared to their peers with high motor competence. It is therefore essential to identify new methods of enhancing physical fitness in this population. Active video games (AVG) have been shown to improve motor performance, yet investigations of its impact on physical fitness are limited. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the graded Wii protocol in adolescent girls with probable Developmental Coordination Disorder (p-DCD).MethodsA single-group pre-post design was conducted to assess the impact of a newly developed Wii protocol in adolescent girls attending school in a low income community of Cape Town, South Africa. Sixteen participants (aged 13-16 years) with p-DCD (≤16th percentile on the MABC-2 test) were recruited. Participants received 45 min Wii training for 14 weeks. Outcome measures included the six-minute walk distance and repeated sprint ability. Information on heart rate, enjoyment and perceived exertion ratings were also collected.ResultsSignificant improvements in aerobic and anaerobic fitness were observed. The participants reported high enjoyment scores and low perceived exertion ratings. The graded Wii protocol was easily adaptable and required little resources (space, equipment and expertise) to administer.ConclusionsThe findings provide preliminary evidence to support the use of the graded Wii protocol for promoting physical fitness in adolescent girls with p-DCD. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and to validate the clinical efficacy of the protocol in a larger sample with a more robust design.

Do video game interventions improve motor outcomes in children with developmental coordination disorder? A systematic review using the ICF framework

“…Two articles by Bonney et al [37, 38] included the same interventions and cohort, and were also considered one study and two articles. The articles by Jelsma et al [43, 44] included the same intervention and similar cohorts (only one intervention group used in the second study by Jelsma et al [44]), the articles by Smits-Engelsman et al [47, 48] involved the same intervention with different cohorts, and the other two articles by Bonney et al [36, 39] also used the same intervention with different cohorts. As such these six articles were considered separate studies [36, 39, 43, 44, 47, 48].…”

“…The level of evidence varied across the included articles with eight categorised as Level 2 [36–38, 41, 42, 45, 46, 49], four as Level 3 [40, 43, 47, 48], and three as Level 4 [35, 39, 44]. The majority of articles had moderate overall quality (60–74%) [36, 38–42, 46–49] as assessed by the Downs and Black scale, with four articles demonstrating low overall quality (< 60%) [35, 43–45].…”

“…Only one article received a high total quality score (≥75%) [37] (see Additional file 3 for results). Overall, articles described their aims, outcome measures, participant characteristics and the main findings of the study well, however only one article described adverse events, with no injuries reported during the intervention [39]. It is acknowledged that it is difficult to blind participants to video gaming interventions and concealed assignment is similarly difficult to implement.…”

“…Three articles were classified as Level 4 [35, 39, 44], with these articles reported in the text only. The Level 4 studies included a single group design.…”

“…Bonney et al [39] included a single group of 16 girls with probable DCD and examined the 6 min walk test (as a measure of aerobic fitness) and the Muscle Power Sprint Test (as a measure of anaerobic performance). This article showed a significant improvement in the 6 min walk test and the Muscle Power Sprint Test [39].…”