Sport Exergames for Physical Education

Abstract

Sports active video games (exergames) are accessible forms of physical activity which might also be used in physical education (PE) curriculum. The purpose of this chapter is to review some of the relevant applications of sports exergames for inclusion in PE and to characterize one of these games (swimming) from different aspects of biomechanics, physiology, and psychology. The authors compared movement patterns, muscle activation, energy expenditure, enjoyment, usability, and game experience in participants with different performing levels (real-swimmers vs. non-swimmers, experienced vs. novice) and gender. Understanding these parameters may help in the development of more realistic sports exergames and meaningful gameplay and may give PE teachers a better idea of the inclusion of such games in their practice.

Does exergaming drive future physical activity and sport intentions?

“…One possibility is that swimming, as an activity, is considered neither feminine nor masculine, and therefore both genders enjoyed it equally. Contrary to previous research indicating that male players are more likely to enjoy competitive games (Soltani and Vilas-Boas, 2017), in our game, which was also competitive in nature, both genders enjoyed the game equally. It is plausible that the type of competition (competing against a computer) may not affect levels of enjoyment in either gender.…”

Impact of Exergaming on Children’s Motor Skill Competence and Health-Related Fitness: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…Secular declines in children’s health-related fitness (HRF) is a growing concern globally [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] and places children at risk for many health issues, including cardiovascular diseases or metabolic syndrome [ 4 ], obesity [ 5 ], and lower health-related quality of life [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Similarly, inadequate levels of motor skill competence (MSC) are a concern among health professionals and physical educators [ 9 , 10 ] as the development of MSC is positively linked to children’s HRF [ 11 , 12 ] and physical activity (PA) [ 12 , 13 ]. Specifically, competence in fundamental locomotor (e.g., jumping and hopping) and object control (e.g., throwing and kicking) skills is a prerequisite to the development of transitional movement skills [ 10 ].…”

“…To sustain development in children’s MSC and HRF, it is critical to design an integrated and fun PA intervention that appeals to children [ 18 ]. Exergaming (a.k.a., active video games), a type of video games that requires bodily movement to play the video game, has been shown to increase children’s light-to-moderate PA by capitalizing on their interests in games and maintaining PA enjoyment [ 9 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Exergaming is one of the innovative and fun ways to motivate children to be active and develop their motor skills [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”