Acute Effect of Xbox Exercise on Mood States in Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Several changes are caused by aging, among them, the higher prevalence of mood disorders. There are evidences about the positive effect of acute and chronic exercise on mood in older adults. In this research, 29 older adults were assessed (66.4 ± 0.8 SE years; 14 men and 15 women). Participants were evaluated in two 60-min conditions in a within-subjects study: (1) Control Condition – watching a film; (2) Exercise Condition – exercising with the Xbox Kinect. Both activities promoted improvements in mood. Moreover, higher enjoyment during the exercise in the Xbox Kinect was associated with greater improvement in mood.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• anxiety
• depression
• elderly
• video games

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge to all older adults who participated in this research, to the Tiago Priest Hospital by the assistance provided and to the FAPEG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás) which provided a master’s scholarship to Milca author (a), with public call number of 3/2014 and process number of 201410267000428.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.