Zan Gao, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and Director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab, will publish two first-authored papers in the Journal of Sport and Health Science (impact factor: 1.72).

In the first editorial paper, Dr. Gao comments on the role of active video games in promoting physical activity and health. According to this editorial, although sedentary video games present negative effects to a healthy and active lifestyle, active video games have a great possibility of facilitating physical activity promotion. Health professionals are striving to “fight fire with fire” — attempting to apply active video games to promoting physical activity and health. Notably, as a result of the work of professionals in the past decade, active video games have made marked contributions to the understanding and promotion of physical activity behaviors among various populations.

The second paper examines the effect of exergaming on children’s sedentary behavior, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and energy expenditure over two years as compared with regular physical education classes. It was found that exergaming can have the same positive effect on children’s light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and energy expenditure as does regular physical education.

Gao, Z. (in press). Fight fire with fire: Promoting physical activity and health through active video games. Journal of Sport and Health Science.

Gao, Z., Pope, Z., Lee, J., Stodden, D., Roncesvalles, N., Pasco, D., Huang, C., & Feng, D. (in press). Impact of exergaming on young children’s school day energy expenditure and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels. Journal of Sport and Health Science.