Profiling exercise intensity during the exergame Hollywood Workout on XBOX 360 Kinect®

Background: Despite the increasing popularity of exergame practice and its promising benefits in counteracting physical inactivity, limited research has been performed to document the physiological responses during an exergame session. This study aims (i) to investigate the responses of heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake (<(V) over dot>O-2) during an exergame session and to compare with HR and <(V) over dot>O-2 measured during joystick session and (ii) to compare HR and <(V) over dot>O-2 obtained during exergame and joystick session with those HR and <(V) over dot>O-2 associated with first and second ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2, respectively) obtained during a maximal graded exercise test. Methods: A total of 39 participants performed a maximal graded exercise test to determine maximal oxygen uptake (<(V) over dot>O-2 max), VT1, and VT2. On separate days, participants performed an exergame and traditional sedentary game (with a joystick) sessions. The time that participants remained with HR and <(V) over dot>O-2 below the VT1, between the VT1 and VT2 and above the VT2 were calculated to determine exercise intensity. Results: Heart rate and <(V) over dot>O-2 were below VT1 during 1,503 +/- 292 s (86.1 +/- 16.7%) and 1,610 +/- 215 s (92.2 +/- 12.3%), respectively. There was an increase in HR and <(V) over dot>O-2 as a function of exergame phases, since HR mean values in the 'warm-up' period (119 +/- 13 bpm) were lower than the 'main phase' (136 +/- 15 bpm) and 'cool-down' periods (143 +/- 15 bpm) (p < 0.001). Regarding <(V) over dot>O-2 values, the 'warm-up' (25.7 +/- 2.9 mL.kg(-1).min(-1)) were similar to the 'main phase' (25.1 +/- 2.8 mL.kg(-1).min(-1)) (p > 0.05) and lower than the 'cool-down' (28.0 +/- 4.8 mL.kg(-1).min(-1)) (p < 0.001). For all times of the joystick session, average HR and <(V) over dot>O-2 were below the VT1 levels. Conclusion: Exergames can be classified as light to moderate exercise. Thus, exergames could be an interesting alternative to traditional forms of exercise.