| The prevalence of overweight (OW) in adolescents has increased nearly three-fold in the U.S. since the 1960's. This alarming trend places adolescents at increased risk for a variety of chronic diseases. Physical activity (PA) is one method of countering this trend. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adolescents accumulate at least 60 minutes of PA on all or most days of the week. Unfortunately, data indicates that few adolescents actually achieve this recommendation. In fact, the data show that PA levels decline during the adolescent years and into young adulthood. Thus, strategies are needed to counter this decline and it is important to examine new and innovative opportunities to engage adolescents in PA. One strategy that might increase adolescent PA combines a computer game format with physical activity via an interactive dance video. Physical education classes, after-school programs and fitness facilities may find that this combination provides the type of fun and variety that increases long-term exercise adherence among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to compare an inter-active dance video game and traditional stationary exercise equipment relative to use preferences and EE in female adolescents aged 16--18. This 8-week observational study assessed exercise equipment use preferences and energy expenditure (EE) among adolescents utilizing a hospital affiliated fitness/wellness center. Twenty (20) female subjects aged 16--18 were asked to self-select exercise apparatus and intensity including the treadmill, stair climber, upright bicycle, recumbent bicycle, rowing machine, elliptical trainer, cross trainer and an inter-active dance video (IDVG) game to determine exercise equipment use preference. EE was assessed by requiring each subject to wear the Body Media SenseWear Pro2 ArmBand(TM), a commercially available device designed to assess EE. Data analysis consisted of chi square analysis, standardized residuals and paired sample t-tests to determine differences among the exercise equipment. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant difference among exercise apparatus by number of minutes of use, total kilocalorie expenditure and number of "first pick" data. The main finding was that in a group of adolescents given free choice amongst eight different pieces of fitness center exercise equipment, objective data show they preferred the treadmill and IDVG to the other exercise equipment whether measured as total minute use, total kilocalorie expenditure or "first pick" data. No significant difference was found among the rate of energy expenditure for exercise apparatus. The results of this study will provide school, fitness/wellness centers and after school programs with valuable information regarding equipment use preferences among adolescents, leading to more effective fitness program design, equipment utilization and lifetime exercise adoption. |
