Abstract

Girls 6 to 19 years old have the highest rates of obesity with about thirty percent being obese in the US (Ogden et al., 2006). Researchers studying the prevention of childhood obesity are examining exergames because playing video games is popular among youth (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). Recent research has mainly focused on energy expenditures during exergame play (Lanningham-Foster et al., 2006; Unnithan et al., 2006; Graves et al., 2007; Maddison et al., 2007; Mellecker & McManus, 2008). Exergaming is playingvideo games that require players' physical exertion (Oh & Yang, 2010).

This dissertation explores how a walking support group centered around the video games Pokémon HeartGold and Soulsilver affected girls' daily physical activity levels and attitudes towards physical activity. Taking a qualitative case study (Stake, 1995) approach, this study uncovered the challenges girls at risk face in their lives and how these exergames are used in the real world by providing detailed descriptions. Consistent with previous literature (Taylor et al., 2000; Neumark-Sztainer, Story, Hannan, Tharp, & Rex, 2003), social support was an important factor for building communities and promoting girl's physical activity.

Citation

Oh, Y. A case study of a girls' exergaming physical activity program. Ph.D. thesis, The University of Wisconsin - Madison. Retrieved February 16, 2019 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/121913/.

This record was imported from ProQuest on October 23, 2013. [Original Record]

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Keywords

• physical education
• Recreation Health Sciences
• Technology of Education
• Women's Studies