Both upper and lower extremity-only video game-based exercises (exergaming) affect blood glucose serum levels and heart rates but not oxygen saturation in teenagers

A decrease in the frequency of physical activities is apparent in children and adolescents. This is partly due to their fondness for playing games on gadgets. If the decline in physical activity continues, it is feared that it may indirectly increase the prevalence of metabolic diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes mellitus. One of the newest innovations to make exercise easier is video game-based exercises (exergaming). Via exergaming, exercises can be done while sitting down (only the upper extremities are moving) or by standing up in a person's own comfortable space. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of performing exergaming via only the upper and lower extremities on blood glucose (BG), heart rate (HR), and oxygen saturation levels. The participants (± 20 year old) were college students, including 24 boys who were divided into three groups, a control group, an upper extremities exergaming (upperEx) group, and a lower extremities exergaming (lowerEx) group. The participants performed mild to moderate intensity exergaming for approximately 30 min. The variables studied included the BG level, HR, and the percentage of oxygen saturation (SpO2). The serial time for collecting data included fasting, 30 min (30'), 60' (after exercise), 90', and 120' after drinking a sweet solution. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the control and treatment groups regarding the 60' BG level and the 60', 90', and 120' of HR with a slower increase in the upperEx. Nonetheless, percentage of SpO2 did not differ among the groups. Therefore, we suggest that exercises of the upper and lower extremities have benefits for the health of teenagers. However, we assume that upper extremity-only exergaming is less harmful for a person who has metabolic disease.