Effects of Playing Exergames on Quality of Life among Young Adults: A 12-Week Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether playing exergames can enhance quality of life among young adults and it examines the potential moderators. Methods: A 12-week randomized controlled trial was conducted. Quality of life was measured using the short-form 36-item version (SF-36) scale. All the participants were between 20 and 24 years old in Taiwan. Participants in the intervention group (n = 55) were asked to play exergames for 12 weeks, three times a week and 30 minutes at a time, while participants in the control group (n = 62) did not play exergames. The changes in the scores on quality of life between the beginning and the end of the 12-week trial were calculated. Independent t-tests were used to analyze the differences. Results: The intervention group participants experienced an enhanced quality of life in terms of physical functioning, role-physical (role limitations due to physical health), general health, and social functioning. Moreover, the intervention group participants who were not enthusiastic about exercisers experienced an enhanced quality of life in physical functioning, role-physical, and general health. The intervention group participants who attempted to control their weight experienced enhanced general health, vitality, and mental health. Conclusion: Playing exergaming could contribute to users' quality of life in terms of both physical and mental health.

A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Role of Enthusiasm About Exergames: Players' Perceptions of Exercise.

Objective: Exergames are popular technology applications that encourage individuals to engage in exercise and create positive moods for players. However, little is known as to whether playing exergames makes players perceive to be more energetic and relaxed and whether enthusiasm about doing exercise moderates such perceptions. To answer these questions, we use the Flow Theory and the Self-Determination Theory to develop the hypotheses. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial, which randomly assigned 337 participants to an intervention group and a control group. We asked the participants in the intervention group to play exergames for 2 weeks. We measured enthusiasm about doing exercise by asking the participants to evaluate themselves as having enthusiasm on doing exercise or not. We measured participants' perceptions of happiness, perceived energy (the perception of sufficient physical and mental resources), and relaxation before and after the 2-week exergame playing, generating scores to represent their changes. Results: We found that playing exergames induces positive changes in happiness, perceived energy, and relaxation. Such changes were significant for participants who are enthusiastic about doing exercise, but not for those who are unenthusiastic about doing exercise. Conclusion: This study was the first using the Flow Theory and the Self-Determination Theory to examine the impact of playing exergames on players' perceptions and to identify the moderator role of enthusiasm about doing exercise. These positive impacts of exergames can be used in rehabilitation settings in encouraging positive attitudes and behaviors toward exercise.

Moderator Roles of Optimism and Weight Control on the Impact of Playing Exergames on Happiness: The Perspective of Social Cognitive Theory Using a Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The literature on exergames has examined their impact on user-perceived psychological health (i.e., user-perceived happiness), but little is known about whether such an impact depends on user characteristics. Therefore, this study used the perspective of social cognitive theory (SCT) to identify potential moderators (i.e., whether the user is optimistic or attempting to control his or her weight) of the impact of playing exergames on user-perceived happiness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This large-scale randomized controlled trial recruited 337 college students (of whom 57.3% were female and all were aged 20-40 years) as participants. The participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. Participants in the intervention group were asked to use an Xbox 360 to play 1 of 10 exergame programs for 30 minutes once a week for 2 weeks. Participants in the control group were not required to do so. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used for the analyses. RESULTS: The analytical results indicate that playing exergames helped to maintain happiness levels and prevented them from decreasing. The maintained happiness was more prominent among participants who were trying to control their weight, but did not differ between participants who were highly optimistic and those who were less optimistic. This study is the first using SCT to explain the contingent effect of playing exergames on user happiness. CONCLUSIONS: Exergames can maintain happiness among users, and such maintenance can be the strongest among users who are trying to control their weight.

How Is Frustration Related to Online Gamer Loyalty? A Synthesis of Multiple Theories.

Online games can frustrate their gamers, but little was known about how such frustration impacts gamer loyalty. Because novice and experienced gamers may respond differently to frustration, this study investigates how gamers' frustration influences their loyalty and how this influence may differ between novice and experienced gamers. Because of the complexity of this issue, multiple theories were synthesized to develop the theoretical model. This study collected responses from 558 online gamers. Findings indicate that frustration is positively related to novice gamers' participation in task teams, and subsequently their loyalty. However, frustration is negatively related to the self-efficacy of experienced gamers and to their loyalty.

Impact of Playing Exergames on Mood States: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

To examine how playing exergames impacts the mood states of university students and staff, and whether such an impact depends on gender and players' previous exercise time. This study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. It enrolled 337 participants and randomly assigned them to an intervention group (n = 168) or a control group (n = 167). A 2-week exergame program was designed for the participants in the intervention group. They were required to play exergames for 30 consecutive minutes each week for 2 weeks and respond to the items measuring vigor, happiness, and perceived stress. All measures were administered before and after the study. Repeated measures analysis of variances were conducted. Playing exergames enhanced vigor and happiness for participants in the intervention group. This group exhibited more positive change in vigor and happiness than the control group. This effect of playing exergames was not moderated by gender, age, occupation (student or staff), or previous exercise time. Playing exergames may induce positive mood states among university students and staff.