Abstracts from the 2011 Exergaming Symposium, University of Calgary (original) (raw)

The purpose of this study was to use physiological feedback in active video games to control the heart rates of players. Media consumption is increasing as is obesity and sedentary lifestyles. Use of active video games is on the rise. However, not many active video games provide rigorous exercise. Physiological feedback controls can be used to increase or decrease the physical demands of an active video game presented to the user. DanceBeat is introduced as a physiological feedback controlled active video game designed with the intent to control players' heart rates. The research examined whether DanceBeat is effective at controlling a player's heart rate. Furthermore, an attempt was made to see if DanceBeat's heart rate control can be used to keep players' heart rates in the zones classified by the ACSM for light and moderate intensity exercise. Participants were a convenience sample of students attending the University of Calgary. A repeated measures crossover design was used. Participants were exposed to two bout of DanceBeat, each with different desired heart rate range recorded. DanceBeat has the potential to be an entertaining and effective form of exercise. The program is open source code and will be made freely available. It is hoped that this research will motivate the inclusion of physiological feedback in the development of future active video games.