Attitudes Towards Physical Activity and Perceived Exertion in Three Different Multitask Cybercycle Navigational Environments

Physical activity and positive health behaviors are not usually associated with playing video games. Participating in exergames, video games that combine exercise and virtual environments may encourage physical activity by making it more enjoyable. The investigation aimed to study attitudes toward physical activity and perceived exertion in three different multitask cybercycle navigational environments. A sample of 56 adults participated in one of three navigation tasks while riding a stationary bicycle with an interactive computer-based simulation program displayed on the built-in screen. Subjects were randomly assigned one of the three navigation groups: Gauges Monitoring (n=18), Touring (n=19) and Gaming (n=19). After completing the ride and concurrent multitask tests, an attitude survey questionnaire was administered concerning individuals’ perceptions of the experience and toward exercise in general. Post-ride participants were also asked to rate their perceived exertion during the ride using the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion. Analysis of variance tests were used to compare the results among the three groups and between genders on each factor and on the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion. Significant differences were found for interaction between environment and gender for the Physical Activity factor (P = 0.020), a gender effect for the Walk Skills factor (P = 0.007), and for the Borg Scale (P = 0.004). Subsequent post hoc Tukey tests indicated that the perceived exertion was higher in the Gaming Group when compared with Gauges Monitoring and Touring Groups (P = 0.006; 0.014, respectively). Overall, participants enjoyed the activity irrespective of environment. Results support the proposition that exergaming in light-to-moderate exercise conditions is perceived as being physically active.