(1327)EXERGAMES: A NEW TOOL FOR PROMOTING PHYSICALACTIVITY IN SCHOOLS

摘要

The exergames can be defined as a technology that uses interactive games to encourage physicalactivity. Due to its strong dialogue with modern society, these games have a wide acceptance in thedifferent age groups and can take many purposes, including: leisure, physical activity, reducingobesity, rehabilitation, etc., making it a possible tool technology to be used in the school context. Theobjective of this study was to review the literature on the application of exergames in schools as a wayof promoting physical activity in children and young people. The search was conducted in electronicdatabases PubMed, Science Direct and Scielo, from January 2006 to October 2011. The following keywords in English and Portuguese languages were used: "exergame," "active games", "interactivegames" and "video games". The search resulted initially in 50 manuscripts and of these only sevenwere related to use of exergames acutely within the school context and in the range between 6 and 13years. Here are the benefits to the practice of exergames in selected context: the stimulation ofimproved quality of life through physical activity, improved coordination, increased energy expenditure,improvement in visual-spatial ability. In addition, some studies were observed in the stimulation ofinterpersonal interaction, and better cognitive development (improvement in attention, concentration,decreased reaction time, etc.), thus suggesting the interest in fostering the promotion of physicalactivity through the exergame in schools, aimed at this age, not only for its physical benefits, andbeing a playful activity, but also by its ability to work on issues relevant to the everyday school(problem solving, sharing objects, and others wait their turn). However, our results show the need toincrease the number of studies exergames this context, as well as the criteria (sample of the studypopulation and time of use), thus showing that the theme is a promising field which deserves to bebetter explored.