Reduction in HbA1c with Exercise videogames among participants with elevated HbA1c: Secondary analysis of the Wii Heart Fitness trial
Open accessAbstract
Aims Physical activity plays an important role in blood glucose management, yet most adults with elevated blood glucose do not engage in regular physical activity. Exercise videogames (EVGs) may be an attractive alternative for persons who have not found standard exercise modalities appealing. Methods This sub-study within a larger trial examined the effects of 12 weeks of EVGs versus standard exercise (e.g., treadmill, cycling) and a control condition among individuals with elevated HbA1c (100% prediabetic). This study was conducted at a university research lab. Outcomes included HbA1c and weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed using self-report and accelerometer.Other health risk indices (e.g., lipids) and psychosocial constructs shown to influence exercise participation (e.g., intrinsic motivation) were assessed. Results Participants (n = 84), averaged age 51.4 years (range 20-79), 80% were female, and 77.4% were non-Hispanic. Baseline HbA1c ranged from 5.7% to 6.4% (39-49 mmol/mol). At week 12, EVG participants demonstrated an average 2% reduction in HbA1c compared to a 0.6% reduction in Standard and Control groups (p's = 0.04 and 0.03). EVG participants engaged in significantly more MVPA than Standard (+17 min/week) and Controls (+54 min/week) (p's < 0.05), had reduced LDL cholesterol (p = 0.05) and trends suggesting reduced body fat (p = 0.10). EVG participants reported higher exercise enjoyment and motivation compared to other participants. Conclusions EVGs may be an attractive and effective tool to improve management of blood glucose that might contribute toward preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes among those with prediabetes.
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TM effects on consumer experience were varied: 5 (71.4%) studies reported positive effects, 1 (14.2%) no discernible effect, and 1 (14.2%) mixed effects.
“The effects of TM on consumer experience were varied, with 5 (71.4%) studies [39,44,48,53,54] reporting positive effects, 1 (14.2%) study [5] with no discernible effect, and 1 (14.2%) study [55] with mixed effects.”
From Digital Health Interventions to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as [53]
The citation [5] is attached to the claim that one study found no discernible effect on consumer experience. In Results > Psychosocial Factors (page unavailable), this study instead reports significantly greater exercise enjoyment for exercise-videogame participants than controls. The reported lack of difference in enjoyment was between standard exercise and controls, not between the videogame group and controls. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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Digital Health Interventions to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Systematic Review
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- Authors
- Bock, B. C., Dunsiger, S. I., Wu, W.-C., Ciccolo, J. T., Serber, E. R., Lantini, R., & Marcus, B. H.
- Affiliations
- Brown University (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- Medical University of South Carolina (US)
- Miriam Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bock, Beth C.
- Venue
- Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-08
- Volume
- 154
- Pages
- 35-42
- ISSN
- 0168-8227 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6698204
- OpenAlex
- W2952968785
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 0.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Keywords
- HbA1c, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes prevention, glycemic control, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, exercise motivation, exercise enjoyment, LDL cholesterol, fat mass
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Blood Glucose, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Exercise Therapy, Female, Glycated Hemoglobin, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prediabetic State, Case-Control Studies, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Video Games, Young Adult
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