Abstract
Background
Exergames are often regarded as innovative tools to promote physical activity. This study assesses whether a 3-month school-based exergaming intervention affects students’ physical self-concept (PSC) and whether “gender,” “body mass index (BMI),” “waist-to-height ratio (WHtR),” “weekly activity level,” “VO2max,” and “interest in sports” moderate possible changes.
Methods
58 fifth- and six-grade students (27 girls) were randomized into an intervention group (INT; n = 30) and a control group (CON). All students completed baseline assessments (anthropometric measurements and a shuttle run test). Throughout an intervention period, the INT attended 15–20-minute exergaming sessions twice a week during school hours. Before and after the intervention, PSC was assessed in both INT and CON using the “PSC scales” including the subscales “strength,” “endurance,” “speed,” “flexibility,” “coordination,” “sports competence,” and “physical appearance.”
To determine time × group interactions, a repeated measures general linear model was performed including “gender,” “BMI,” “WHtR,” “weekly activity level,” “interest in sports,” and “VO2max” as covariates.
ANOVAs were performed to determine within-group effects.
Results
The analyses revealed significant time × group interaction effects for “PSC total” (p = 0.015) and the subscales “flexibility” (p = 0.017), “coordination” (p = 0.045), “strength” (p < 0.001), and “speed” (p = 0.029). None of the covariates moderated time × group interactions. Significant within-group effects from pre to post have been found for “PSC total” (p = 0.042), “strength” (p < 0.001), and “sports competence” (p = 0.046), and borderline significance for “flexibility” (p = 0.051) for the INT. For the CON, no significant differences were assessed.
Conclusion
School-based exergaming seems to be promising for improving students’ PSC and therefore, positively affect their well-being.
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Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the authors.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the support of teachers and the school’s principal, without whom this study would not have been possible. Furthermore, we would like to thank Sphery Ltd (Switzerland) for providing the ExerCube Sphery Racer.
Funding
Sphery AG (Switzerland) provided the ExerCube. The company had no role in the study design, data collection, and analysis. No revenue was paid (or promised to be paid) to Sphery AG.
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Lisa Röglin: L.R.; Sascha Ketelhut: S.K.; Oliver Stoll: O.S.; Kerstin Ketelhut: K.K.; Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken: A.L.M.N. Conceptualization, L.R., S.K, K.K., and O.S.; data curation, L.R.; formal analysis, L.R. and O.S.; investigation, L.R., K.K. and S.K.; methodology, L. R., S.K., O. S. and K.K; project administration, K.K., and O.S.; resources, K.K. and A.L.M.-N.; supervision, K.K. and A.L.M.-N.; validation, L.R., S.K. and K.K.; visualization, L.R., A.L.M.N.; writing—original draft preparation, L.R.; writing—review and editing, L.R., S.K., O. S., A.L.M.-N., K.K. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.
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L. Röglin, O. Stoll, S. Ketelhut, A.-L. Martin-Niedecken and K. Ketelhut declare that they have no competing interests.
The study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Research Ethics Board of the Medical Center Berlin (2020-09-RK1). The study results are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Röglin, L., Stoll, O., Ketelhut, S. et al. A 3-month school-based exergaming intervention increases students’ physical self-concept: a randomized controlled trial. Ger J Exerc Sport Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-024-00954-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-024-00954-6