Exercise Videogames, Physical Activity, and Health: Wii Heart Fitness: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Adults who engage in regular physical activity have lower rates of morbidity and mortality than those who do not. Exercise videogames may offer an attractive, sustainable alternative or supplement to traditional modes of exercise. This study compared exercise videogames with standard exercise modalities for improving uptake and maintenance of moderate to vigorous physical activity, and health risk indices. STUDY DESIGN: A three-arm clinical RCT including 12 weeks of supervised laboratory-based moderate to vigorous physical activity followed by 6 months follow-up. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted at a university affiliated hospital research lab. Healthy, sedentary adults were eligible. INTERVENTIONS: This study compared a 12-week program of supervised exercise videogames versus standard exercise (e.g., treadmill) versus control. Data were collected from January 2012 to September 2017 and analyzed in 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity at end of treatment, assessed at 3 and 6 months post-intervention by using self-report and accelerometer data. Health risk indices (e.g., HbA1c, lipids) were also assessed. RESULTS: Participants (N=283) had an average age of 46.2 ±13.5 years; 79% were female. At end of treatment, those in the exercise videogame arm engaged in 30 minutes/week more moderate to vigorous physical activity compared with standard exercise and 85 more minutes/week than controls (all p<0.05). Exercise videogame participants had greater reductions in cholesterol, HbA1c, and body fat versus other groups. Reductions in cholesterol were twice as large in exercise videogame versus standard participants. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise videogames produced greater uptake and maintenance of moderate to vigorous physical activity compared with standard exercise and improvements in multiple health risk indices. Exercise videogames may promote sustainable physical activity with significant health benefits. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT03298919.

Effects of acute exercise on mood and well-being in patients with major depressive disorder.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine if a single bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise would improve mood and well-being in 40 (15 male, 25 female) individuals who were receiving treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: All participants were randomly assigned to exercise at 60-70% of age-predicted maximal heart rate for 30 min or to a 30-min period of quiet rest. Participants completed both the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES) as indicators of mood 5 min before, and 5, 30, and 60 min following their experimental condition. RESULTS: Both groups reported similar reductions in measures of psychological distress, depression, confusion, fatigue, tension, and anger. Only the exercise group, however, reported a significant increase in positive well-being and vigor scores. CONCLUSION: Although 30 min of either moderate-intensity treadmill exercise or quiet rest is sufficient to improve the mood and well-being of patients with MDD, exercise appears to have a greater effect on the positively valenced states measured.