Effects of active video gaming on oxidative stress and antioxidant status in university students

Background and Study Aim Many findings have demonstrated that several life-threatening diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, obesity-related diseases, and certain types of malignancies, can be prevented by exercise. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be the direct or associated factor that causes or prevents these diseases. It is well known that a strenuous and high-intensity acute exercise increases ROS production and intensifies oxidative stress. At this point, the importance of physical activity (PA) and exercise in reducing oxidants and improving antioxidant defense system increasing. The purposes of the current study were to investigate the short term (acute) and long term (chronic) effects of active video gaming (AVG) on oxidative stress indices.Material and MethodsNine healthy male university students participated in the study. The participants played an AVG as vigorous physical activity (MET > 7) for 20 minutes, three days a week, for 4 weeks. Each participant completed twelve game sessions. Blood samples were obtained just before (after 10 min rest in seated position) and immediately after the game session on the first and the last day of the study. Total oxidant and antioxidant status (TOS and TAS) were determined using an automated measurement method, and the oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated. Total oxidized guanine (TOG) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were analyzed using commercial kits (Cayman Chemical). Data were analyzed with dependent t-tests and significance was accepted as p<0.05.Results The SOD activity significantly decreased after the AVG on the first day (4.78 +/- 1.26 vs. 3.81 +/- 1.80; p=0.026). The TOS (6.62 +/- 1.09 vs. 7.30 +/- 1.24) and TOG (9.26 +/- 2.69 vs. 9.78 +/- 2.62) levels increased on the first day, but these alterations were not significant. Additionally, no significant acute changes were observed for the last day of the studyConclusions The 4-week active video gaming practices did not change the oxidative stress status of pre-game, chronically. Four-week-AVG practice did not change oxidative stress indices significantly in rest.