The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active Summit 2011

TLDR

The American Heart Association convened The Power of Play summit, hosted with Nintendo of America, to explore how active‑play video gaming could improve health‑related skills, self‑esteem, social support, and motivate positive health behaviors. The summit aimed to examine the influence of active‑play video gaming on health outcomes, identify gaps in understanding behavior‑change processes, and guide future game design to enhance physical activity participation across diverse populations. A science panel reviewed current research and discussed the potential of active‑play video gaming as a gateway experience that may motivate increased physical activity intensity and duration. The panel concluded that further research is needed on the gateway concept and other behavioral health.

Abstract

Background— To examine the influence active-play video gaming (also referred to as exergaming, exertainment, and active gaming) might have on improving health-related skills, enhancing self-esteem and self-efficacy, promoting social support, and ultimately motivating positive changes in health behaviors, the American Heart Association convened The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active Summit. The summit, as well as a follow-up science panel, was hosted by the American Heart Association and Nintendo of America. Methods and Results— The science panel discussed the current state of research on active-play video gaming and its potential to serve as a gateway experience that might motivate players to increase the amount and intensity of physical activity in their daily lives. The panel identified the need for continued research on the gateway concept and on other behavioral health outcomes that could result from active-play video games and considered how these games could potentially affect disparate populations. Conclusions— The summit represented an exciting first step in convening healthcare providers, behavioral researchers, and professionals from the active-play video game industry to discuss the potential health benefits of active-play video games. Research is needed to improve understanding of processes of behavior change with active games. Future games and technologies may be designed with the goal to optimize physical activity participation, increase energy expenditure, and effectively address the abilities and interests of diverse and targeted populations. The summit helped the participants gain an understanding of what is known, identified gaps in current research, and supported a dialogue for continued collaboration.