McBain Thomas, Weston Matthew, Crawshaw Paul, Haighton Catherine, Spears Iain
Academy of Sport and Physical Activity, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Law, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom.
JMIR Serious Games. 2018 Mar 27;6(1):e4. doi: 10.2196/games.7758.
Sport science can play a critical role in reducing health inequalities. The inverse relationship between life expectancy, cardiorespiratory fitness, and socioeconomic status could be addressed by performing high-intensity training (HIT), delivered in a class salient and accessible approach. Commercially available exergames have shown encouraging compliance rates but are primarily designed for entertainment purposes rather than focusing on health-related outcomes. A serious game tailored toward delivering an exercise stimulus, while reducing the aversive protocols associated with HIT, could be beneficial to engage and improve health outcomes in socially deprived males.
The aims of this study were to develop an exergame capable of delivering HIT and evaluate the effect on selected health outcomes in men recruited in regions of socioeconomic deprivation.
We conducted an exploratory trial in our target population, and participants were allocated to intervention (n=14) or control groups (n=10) by third-party minimization. The intervention was a 6-week training program consisting of three sessions of exergaming per week. The sessions involved a structured warm-up, then brief intermittent repetitions in the form of boxing rounds (10 s, 20 s, and 30 s) against their peers with a work/rest ratio of 0.25.
Retention to the intervention was 87.5% (21/24). Over the duration of the intervention, session attendance was 67.5% (170/252); repetition mean and peak heart rates (% of maximal) and session ratings of perceived exertion (AU, arbitrary units) were 86.3 (5.4%), 89.9 (6.1%), and 7.5 (2.2 AU), respectively. The effect of the intervention, when compared with the control, was a likely small beneficial improvement in predicted maximum oxygen consumption (VO max, 3.0; 90% confidence limits ±2.6%). Effects on body mass, waist circumference, and blood pressure were either trivial or unclear.
Over the 6-week intervention, the exergame delivered a consistent and sustained dose of HIT, with some beneficial effects on aerobic fitness in the target population.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03477773; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03477773 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yDLgVs35).
运动科学在减少健康不平等方面可发挥关键作用。预期寿命、心肺适能与社会经济地位之间的反比关系可通过以突出且易于参与的方式开展高强度训练（HIT）来解决。市面上的健身游戏显示出令人鼓舞的依从率，但主要是为娱乐目的设计，而非专注于与健康相关的结果。一款针对提供运动刺激、同时减少与HIT相关的厌恶方案的严肃游戏，可能有助于让社会经济条件差的男性参与进来并改善健康结果。
本研究的目的是开发一款能够进行HIT的健身游戏，并评估其对招募自社会经济贫困地区男性的选定健康结果的影响。
我们在目标人群中进行了一项探索性试验，通过第三方最小化法将参与者分配到干预组（n = 14）或对照组（n = 10）。干预是一个为期6周的训练计划，每周包括三节健身游戏课程。课程包括结构化热身，然后是以拳击回合形式（10秒、20秒和30秒）与同伴进行的简短间歇重复训练，工作/休息比为0.25。
干预的留存率为87.5%（21/24）。在干预期间，课程出勤率为67.5%（170/252）；重复训练时的平均心率和峰值心率（最大心率的百分比）以及自觉用力程度评分（任意单位，AU）分别为86.3（5.4%）、89.9（6.1%）和7.5（2.2 AU）。与对照组相比，干预的效果可能是预测最大摄氧量（VO max）有小幅度的有益改善（3.0；90%置信区间±2.6%）。对体重、腰围和血压的影响要么微不足道，要么不明确。
在为期6周的干预中，健身游戏提供了持续且稳定剂量的HIT，对目标人群的有氧适能有一些有益影响。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03477773；https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03477773（由WebCite存档于http://www.webcitation.org/6yDLgVs35）。
