Research Report

Study: Physical Video Games Help Obese Kids Lose Weight

- Mar 26, 2014

Learning Research
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Is this the treadmill of the future?

Is this the treadmill of the future?


Experts have often expressed concern that video games help make kids sedentary and may contribute to childhood obesity, but a new study indicates that physical video games like the Xbox 360 Kinect could help them lose weight.

The study appears in the recent edition of JAMA Pediatrics and was a 16-week randomized control study. Seventy-five children between 8 and 12 participated in the study.

The lead researcher, University of Queensland Professor Stewart Trost, told the Brisbane Times the results surprised his team.

“Both groups saw a decline in relative weight and body mass index percentile,” he said. “However the group that participated in active gaming observed twice the reduction in relative weight and body mass index scores than the non-gaming group.”

Key Findings

    • Kids playing sports video games lost an average of 2 ½ times body mass index, compared to those who only followed a weight loss program.
    • 7.4 minutes: the amount of time students in the program participated in moderate to vigorous activity beyond those

The study was sponsored by UnitedHealth Group and their ongoing anti-obesity program JOIN for ME, which is offered at YMCAs and schools in six states.

But beyond the actual numbers, researchers found children responded to the games.

“What we noticed in working with all these kids is that they didn’t have access to physical activity or they didn’t have the confidence to join and play in sports,” co-author Deborah Sundal told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But many of these kids came back and said, ‘But I love video games.’”

Researchers acknowledge that the study does not eliminate the concerns about children becoming sedentary, but they argue their work finds that including games as part of the effort to combat obesity can have a powerful effect on children.

“No one believes that gaming is going to solve obesity,” Deneen Vojta, a pediatrician at UnitedHealth, told Forbes. “It’s a signal for the health care and gaming industries that although passive screen time contributed to obesity, it could contribute to a solution.”