Purpose
Exergaming’s potential to promote young children’s cognition and health remains largely unknown. This randomized crossover trial was to evaluate the preliminary effects of an educational exergaming program (LeapTV™) versus usual practice on preschool children’s executive function (EF), sedentary behavior (SB), and physical activity (PA).
Methods
A total of 34 preschool children (17 girls, Mage = 4.72 ± 0.73 years; BMI-z = 0.39 ± 1.08) were randomized to either exergaming (30 min/day, 5 days/week) or usual practice condition for 12 weeks, followed by a 1-week washout period (week 13) and a second 12-week crossover phase. The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) test was used to assess EF; SB, light PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were measured by ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers. All participants underwent identical assessments at baseline, week 13, and 26.
Results
After a 12-week intervention, both conditions displayed significant improvements in EF. Compared with usual practice, yet, exergaming increased children’s EF by 1.9 DCCS unit (95 % confidence interval [95 % CI], −0.34 to 4.04; d = 0.22). Despite no other statistical differences were noted, compared with usual practice, exergaming decreased SB by 22.1 min (95 % CI, −25.22 to 18.98; d = 0.29) and light PA by 9.56 min (95 % CI, −7.09 to −12.02; d = 0.22), and increased MVPA by 4.05 min (95 % CI, 2.35–5.74; d = 0.20).
Conclusion
This study demonstrates the LeapTV™ would promote meaningful improvements in preschool children’s EF and PA behaviors. Despite the promising efficacy, larger trials are needed to confirm our findings.