The Physiologic and Behavioral Implications of Playing Active and Sedentary Video Games in a Seated and Standing Position

Previous studies have assessed physiologic response while playing video games per manufacturer instructions with participants standing during active video game play and seated during sedentary game play. It is not known whether an assigned seated or standing position affects positional preference and oxygen consumption (VO2) while gaming. The purpose of the study was to assess VO2 and preference of playing active and sedentary video games in a seated and standing position. VO2 was assessed in 25 participants during four, 20-minute conditions; resting, PlayStation 2 Madden NFL Football 2011, Nintendo Wii-Sports Boxing and Nintendo Wii Madden NFL Football 2011. Each condition was divided into two positional conditions (10 minutes seated, 10 minutes standing) and each participant indicated their positional preference after each 20-minute condition. Standing VO2 (4.4 ± 0.2 ml • kg−1 • min−1 PS2, 4.6 ± 0.1 ml • kg−1 • min−1 Wii Madden, 6.8 ± 0.3 ml • kg−1 • min−1Wii Boxing) was significantly (p ≤ 0.001) greater than seated VO2 (4.0 ± 0.1 ml • kg−1 • min−1 PS2, 4.2 ± 0.1 ml • kg−1 • min−1 Wii Madden, 6.1 ± 0.3 ml • kg−1 • min−1Wii Boxing) for each gaming condition. Participants preferred (p ≤ 0.001) to sit for all gaming conditions except Wii Boxing. Playing video games while standing increases VO2 to a greater extent than playing the same games in a seated position. Standing was only preferred for the most physiologically challenging game, Wii Boxing. Gaming position should be considered when assessing the physiologic and behavioral outcomes of playing video games.