Effectiveness of active video games in overweight and obese adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PURPOSE: The purpose of this review was to assess the effect of active video games among overweight and obese adolescents. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using records from the English-language electronic databases MEDLINE, the Web of Science, and PubMed. These databases were searched from January 2010 to December 2020 using the keywords (adolescent*) AND (overweight OR obese *) AND (active video games OR exergaming * OR video game*). RESULTS: Five articles met the inclusion criteria. Four studies were conducted in the United States of America and 1 study was conducted in Canada. In addition, all included articles had a randomized controlled trial study design. It was determined that the sample size of the studies was 30–46 participants and there were a total of 195 overweight and obese adolescents across the included studies. Active video gaming was negatively associated with changes in body mass index percentile (mean difference [MD], -1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.55 to -0.99; P<0.001) and total cholesterol (MD, -11.16; 95% CI, -16.64 to -5.68; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Playing active video games can reduce both the body mass index percentile and total cholesterol in overweight and obese adolescents. Active video games can provide a different method for combating childhood obesity. High-quality randomized controlled trials are recommended to assess the impact of game-based interventions.