Acute effects of exergaming on young adults’ energy expenditure, enjoyment, and self-efficacy
Open accessAbstract
This study investigated the effects of a dance-based exergaming on Chinese college students’ energy expenditure, self-efficacy, and enjoyment in comparison with the traditional aerobic dance exercise. Forty young adults (33 females; Mage = 21.55 years, SD = 2.06) completed two separate 20 min exercise sessions with 10 min intervals on the same day: (1) Xbox 360 Kinect Just Dance exergaming session; and (2) a traditional instructor-led aerobic dance exercise session. Participants’ energy expenditure (Kcal/session) was measured by the ActiGraph GT9X Link accelerometers, and their perceived self-efficacy and enjoyment were assessed via validated surveys following each session. Dependent t-test indicated significant differences in participants’ enjoyment (t = −1.83,p = 0.04). Specifically, participants in the dance-based exergaming session reported a higher level of enjoyment (M = 3.96, SD = 0.65) as compared to the aerobic dance session (M = 3.61, SD = 0.54). However, there was no significant difference in energy expenditure and self-efficacy between the two sessions. Findings suggest that college students had comparable energy expenditure as the traditional aerobic dance session while experiencing more fun and enjoyment. This suggests that exergaming can be a fun exercise alternative for promoting physical activity among young adults.
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Playing AVGs can elicit physical activity levels of moderate intensity.
“Several studies have also demonstrated that playing AVGs can elicit physical activity levels of moderate intensity [72, 75, 76] and have found associations with improvements in body composition, including positive effects on body mass index and body fat percentage [76, 77].”
From Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [75]
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Health Benefits of Video Games in Adolescents and Young Adults
Nagata, J. M., Nayak, S., Choi, W., Potes, C., Heuer, A., Memon, Z., Talebloo, J., Li, E. J., Bao, K., Helmer, C. K., et al. (2026) · Current Pediatrics Reports · doi:10.1007/s40124-026-00376-y · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Several studies have also demonstrated that playing AVGs can elicit physical activity levels of moderate intensity [72, 75, 76] and have found associations with improvements in body composition, including positive effects on body mass index and body fat percent - age [76, 77].”
- Authors
- Gu, D., Gu, C., Oginni, J., Ryu, S., Liu, W., Li, X., & Gao, Z.
- Affiliations
- Hengyang Normal University (CN)
- Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CN)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Hunan Normal University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Xianxiong
- Gao, Zan
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2023-08-14
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 1238057-1238057
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10461440
- OpenAlex
- W4385837530
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4
- FWCI
- 3.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Keywords
- exergames, energy expenditure, exercise enjoyment, self-efficacy, aerobic dance, university students, young adults, physical activity promotion
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