A Randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Efficacy of Pokémon GO in Increasing Physical Activity

Jasmine Huiya Sun

doi:10.17918/00010774

Physical inactivity is associated with significant increases in morbidity and mortality risk, necessitating the development of interventions to increase physical activity (PA). However, exercise/PA is experienced as inherently unpleasant, boring, or fatiguing, limiting long-term adherence. Exercise games ("exergames") represent an alternative method of promoting PA that can be used to supplement standard cognitive-behavioral interventions, as the use of game elements help to transform PA into an enjoyable experience. However, despite extensive research on exergames, there are fundamental methodological issues in the literature (e.g., studies that do not isolate the effect of gamification, use games with poor acceptability, and/or using non-objective measures of PA) that limit the ability to draw conclusions on the overall effectiveness of exergames at increasing PA. Thus, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to test whether pairing an exergame with a standard cognitive-behavioral PA promotion intervention improves PA beyond that of the cognitive-behavioral intervention alone. We screened and randomized healthy, physically inactive adults (N = 32) to one of two conditions. In the control condition, participants set a daily step goal (10,000 steps/day) and self-monitored their PA using the Fitbit tracker and application for 28 days. Participants also received a psychoeducational workshop at baseline, and weekly handouts on strategies for increasing or maintaining their PA. In the experimental condition, participants received the same interventions as those in the control condition, with additional instructions to play the exergame Pokémon GO. Participants attempted to reach a goal in the game each week (e.g. reach level 5). In addition, the weekly handouts were tailored to reference and promote use of Pokémon GO features. Results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in steps at Week 4 between the two conditions, intrinsic motivation for PA did not mediate the relationship between condition and post-treatment PA, and none of the moderators significantly interacted with the exergame to affect post-treatment steps, though there were main effects of area walkability, liking for video games, and attitudes toward video games. Pokémon GO demonstrated mixed acceptability. In general, these nonsignificant results suggest that more attention needs to be directed towards increasing the acceptability of exergames to make them more efficacious. Increased acceptability may be accomplished through a more personalized approach, wherein exergames are designed/tailored to fit specific target populations, preferences, and interests.

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Efficacy of Pokémon GO in Increasing Physical Activity

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A Randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Efficacy of Pokémon GO in Increasing Physical Activity

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