ABSTRACT
It is recommended that children accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise a day (Strong et al., 2005). An accepted description for moderate intensity exercise is that which results in an energy expenditure of between 3 and 6 METs or a heart rate reserve (HRR) of greater than 50 % (ACSM, 2006). Despite these recommendations, low activity levels are seen in children today, and have been implicated in the increase in obesity (Tremblay and Willms, 2003). Children with obesity have been shown to be less likely than their healthy peers to participate in traditional exercise or sports (Dowda et al., 2001), and spend more time in sedentary activities such as television viewing and computer gaming (Hoos et al., 2003). The World Health Organisation recommends reducing inactivity in obese children (Branca et al., 2007). However, children value screen time (Epstein et al., 1998), and the popularity of video games is increasing (Rideout etal., 2010).
