Active Video Games and Appetite Control in Adolescents

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Video games have enormous mass appeal, are omnipresent in the daily schedule of most children and youth and have been linked to the obesity epidemic. The investigators research group recently reported that sedentary video game playing increases food intake in adolescents. Interestingly, the overconsumption of food associated with seated video game play was observed without increased sensations of hunger and appetite, as previously observed with television viewing. Active video games offer an appealing opportunity for increasing energy expenditure and promoting healthy body weight among children and youth who might otherwise be spending time in sedentary screen-based activities. However, significant increases in energy expenditure as a result of active video game play might be of little importance to energy balance if one compensates by increasing energy intake and/or decreasing physical activity. Studies to date have failed to measure energy intake so it is currently unknown the effects of active video games on daily energy balance. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study is to examine the acute effects of playing active video games on energy intake and expenditure. HYPOTHESIS: The investigators hypothesize that the increase in energy expenditure promoted by active video games will be offset by compensatory adjustments in food intake and spontaneous physical activity subsequent to the intervention. RESEARCH PLAN: With the use of a randomized crossover design, 30 normal-weight and 30 obese adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age will complete three 1-hour experimental conditions, namely (1) resting in a sitting position (control condition), (2) playing Xbox 360 (sedentary video game condition) and (3) playing Kinect (active video game condition), followed by an ad libitum lunch. The primary outcomes will be acute (24-h) and short-term (3-day) energy intake and expenditure. Food intake will be measured using an ad libitum test meal immedi