For people with asthma, exercise (combined with medicine) is a crucial way to improve their symptoms. However, traditional exercise can initially be difficult for people with asthma symptoms. In addition, the rise of digital entertainment has made certain types of activity more accessible. Therefore, one study examined the use of a video-game based exercise program in improving asthma symptoms in children (Gomes et al., 2015). This study is briefly discussed here.
Methods
The participants in this study consisted of 26 children who had been diagnosed with asthma. Half of these participants were randomly assigned to the video game group (VGG) while the other half were assigned to the treadmill group (TG). Both groups ended up exercising two times a week for 40 minutes each session for a total of eight weeks.
The video game training was as follows:
- Five minutes of warm-up with slow walking (2 km/h) on a treadmill
- 30 minutes of training while playing the Xbox 360 game “Reflex Ridge” from Kinect Adventure:
- Three 10-minute rounds with 30 seconds of rest between each round
- The game involved squatting, jumping, and moving both arms and legs
- The game increased intensity with each level
- Five minutes of cool-down with slow walking (2 km/h) on a treadmill
The treadmill training was as follows:
- Five minutes of warm-up with slow walking (2 km/h) on a treadmill
- 30 minutes of training while walking on a treadmill
- The walking level was initially set at 70% of each participant’s maximum effort, as determined previously
- The walking intensity increased any time a participant showed no symptoms at a prior intensity
- Five minutes of cool-down with slow walking (2 km/h) on a treadmill
The study proceeded as follows:
- The first week consisted of baseline assessments (the same measures were taken following the eight weeks of training):
- Pulmonary inflammation, as determined by fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO)
- Maximum effort, as determined by a treadmill-based maximum exercise protocol
- Lung function, as determined by response to a bronchodilator
- Energy expenditure, as determined by an activity monitor
- Asthma control, as determined by the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)
- Body composition, as determined by height, weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, and tetrapolar bioimpedance
- The next eight weeks consisted of training based on the group each participant was assigned into. During the training, the following measures were tracked:
- Heart rate
- Oxygen saturation
- Energy expenditure
- Re-testing of baseline assessments
Results
The following results were obtained:
- Following the training period, both groups showed significantly improved asthma control
- Following the training period, only the video game group showed reduced FeNO (which indicates improved pulmonary inflammation)
- There were no significant differences in mean energy expenditure between the two groups, but the video game group showed significantly higher total energy expenditure and maximum metabolic expenditure
- There were no significant differences in heart rate or cardiac response between the two groups, but the predicted maximum heart rate achieved during training was significantly higher in the video game group than in the treadmill group
- Following training, both groups showed significantly increased maximum aerobic capacity
Altogether, both groups showed significant improvements in their asthma symptoms.
Wrapping up
The results of this study showed that both types of exercise led to significant benefits for the participants. While the FeNO results were in favor of the video game group, the main takeaway should be that this video-game based training was at least as effective as traditional aerobic exercise in improving the asthma conditions of children. As traditional exercise can be difficult or inaccessible for some people with asthma, the possibilities of any alternatives, such as video game-based exercise, are exciting.
References
Gomes, E.L.F.D., Carvalho, C.R.F., Peixoto-Souza, F.S., Teixeira-Carvalho, E.F., Mendonça, J.F.B., Stirbulov, R., Sampaio, L.M.M., Costa, D. (2015). Active Video Game Exercise Training Improves the Clinical Control of Asthma in Children: Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS One, 10(8), e0135433. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135433.
