Active video games in schools to enhance children´s physical activity

Introduction: Despite all the efforts to promote physical activity, there is a decline of its level from childhood to adolescence. To create attractive physical activity programs it is important to consider a new generation of video games: the active video games. The aim study protocol is to describe an experimental design trial protocol to verify if the use of active video games can increase physical activity among 10–12 years old children. Methods: The protocol will be a two-arm randomized controlled trial, with a 4-week duration and 4-week follow-up. This experimental trial will be developed in Algarve Region, Portugal. This study follows two phases. The first is a pilot randomized controlled trial to determine the feasibility of the study, with a sample of 8 participants. The second will be a randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of active video game play on physical activity levels. A sample size of 60 participants in this study is estimated to supply at least 80% power at 5% level of significance (two-sided).