AUTHOR=Siegmund Lee A. , Naylor Jonathan B. , Santo Antonio S. , Barkley Jacob E. 

TITLE=The effect of a peer on VO2 and game choice in 6–10 year old children

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2014

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2014.00202

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2014.00202

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=Relative to sedentary video games (e.g., Playstation 2 (PS2)), playing physically active video games (e.g., Nintendo Wii (Wii)) significantly increases caloric expenditure in children.  Studies have demonstrated that the presence of a peer increases physical activity in children.  We sought to determine if children would expend more energy and find playing Wii more motivating than PS2 when with a peer.      <br/>                                                                                          <br/>Seventeen children (age 8.5 ± 0.4 years) rested,  played PS2 and Wii Sports Boxing for 10 minutes each, in two conditions: one in which the children rested/played the games alone (alone condition) and another in which they played with a peer (peer condition).  Oxygen consumption (VO2), and liking (visual analog scale) was assessed for each 10-minute condition.  After three 10-minute resting/gaming conditions, motivation was assessed using a relative reinforcing value task (RRV) in which children performed computer mouse presses to gain additional access for either PS2 or Wii.  VO2 was greater (p < 0.001) during Wii play (mean = 12.17 ± 4.1 ml∙kg-1∙min-1) versus rest (mean = 5.14 ± 1.46 ml∙kg-1∙min-1) and PS2 (mean = 5.83 ±  2.1  ml∙kg-1∙min-1).  During the peer condition, boys exhibited a greater (p = 0.02) increase in VO2 from rest to Wii ( Δ 9.0 ± 3.7 ml∙kg-1∙min-1), relative to girls (Δ 4.9 ± 2.9 ml∙kg-1∙min-1).  Liking was significantly (p < 0.001) greater for Wii (7.7 ± 1.9 cm) and PS2 (8.3 ± 1.3 cm) relative to rest (4.0 ± 2.8 cm).  RRV for Wii significantly decreased (p = 0.03) from alone (340.8 ± 106.8 presses) to the peer condition (147.8 ± 81.6 presses). <br/><br/>Conclusion:  The presence of a peer increased VO2 during Wii play for boys but not girls.  Surprisingly, the presence of a peer decreased children’s motivation to play Wii versus PS2.<br/>