Does exergaming promote well-being in adults?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v11i2.259Abstract
Background: Physical inactivity is a pervasive issue despite the well-known health benefits of habitual exercise. Novel interventions – such as exergaming – represent a viable option to address the physical inactivity crisis yet little is known about the effects on well-being attributable to exergaming in adults.
Purpose: The purpose of this review was to synthesize the current status of published research using exergaming as a platform to change well-being in adults.
Methods: Following a comprehensive search of electronic databases (N = 5), a multi-phase filtering process resulted in 24 studies that were coded for this review. All retained studies were (a) published in English, (b) used exergaming as an intervention, and (c) measured at least one marker of well-being that served as a dependent variable.
Results: Mixed support was evident for improved well-being as a function of exergaming in adults. Less than 50.0 percent of the coded studies using either multi- or single-group (pre-posttest) research designs reported enhanced well-being as a function of exergaming. Heterogeneity in research designs, variety in measuring well-being, plus an overreliance on null-hypothesis significance testing were evident in studies focused on the contributions of exergaming to well-being.
Conclusions: Overall, it seems that exergaming has potential for improving well-being in adults. However, the evidence-base supporting widespread use of exergaming as a modality for improved well-being in adults remains equivocal at this juncture.
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