The Effect of Active Video Gaming on Physical Activity Levels of Students with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose was to examine differences in physical activity levels of children (N = 24) with developmental disabilities in traditional adapted physical education activities compared with Nintendo Wii Fit active video gaming activities. Students' physical activity levels were monitored for one adapted physical education practicum session. Physical activity was measured via ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer. An dependent groups t-test was used to compare mean accelerometer activity counts per minute between the traditional adapted physical education activities condition and the Nintendo Wii Fit active video gaming condition. Cohen's delta (d) was calculated to provide an estimate of the size of the difference between groups. The difference between physical activity levels of children in traditional adapted physical education activities (8,958 ± 3,580 activity counts per minute) and active video gaming activities (8,834 ± 3,609 activity counts per minute) was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), and the size of the difference was small (d = 0.03).