Metabolic Cost and Exercise Intensity During Active Virtual Reality Gaming

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the exercise intensity of active virtual reality games (AVRGs) by oxygen consumption (VO2), heart rate (HR), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). A second aim was to compare the AVRG intensities to current American College of Sports Medicine exercise guidelines using metabolic equivalents (METs) and %VO2 reserve (%VO2R). Materials & Methods: HR, VO2, and RPE were collected on participants (N=41; age: 25.2 +/- 4.4 years) during 10-minutes of supine rest and while the participants played each of the following AVRGs for 10 minutes: Thrill of the Fight (TOF), Audioshield (AS), and Holopoint (HP). Results: Compared to resting values of HR (63 +/- 10 bpm) and VO2 (4.9 +/- 0 6 mL/[kg . min]), there were significant elevations in these variables during TOF (149 +/- 16 bpm and 32.5 +/- 7.1 mL/[kg . min]), AS (131 +/- 24 bpm and 19.1 +/- 5.9 mL/[kg . min]), and HP (135 +/- 22 bpm and 24.8 +/- 6.6 mL/[kg center dot min]). Based on 95% confidence intervals (CI) of %VO2R, TOF was classified vigorous (68.6% +/- 2.8%), HP moderate (49.7% +/- 2.7%), and AS light intensity (35.7%+/- 2.4%). The 95% CI of METs indicated that TOF was classified vigorous (9.3 +/- 0.3 METs), HP moderate to vigorous (7.1 +/- 0.3 METs), and AS moderate intensity (5.5 +/- 0.3 METs). Lastly, 95% CI of RPE led to TOF being classified as moderate (12.7 +/- 0.4), whereas HP (10.5 +/- 0.4) and AS (9.3 +/- 0.3) were light intensity. Conclusions: These data suggest that these AVRGs can elicit significant increases in VO2 that are game-dependent, indicating increased energy expenditure. Furthermore, each game had a lower intensity categorization based on RPE compared to %VO2R or METs. These data provide information on the metabolic cost of movement-specific games and may aid consumers and fitness specialists in developing exercise programs with AVRGs.