Effects of Active Video Games on Chinese Overweight and Obese College Students' Physical and Mental Health

Globally, overweight and obesity have become a major health concern and are present at all ages in both developed and developing countries. Sedentary lifestyle habits lead to reduced physical activity, which reduces energy expenditure, and this, combined with excessive energy intake, increases the risk of obesity. Lack of exercise combined with a sedentary lifestyle can exacerbate obesity and chronic disease. Among all obese people, the number of obese college students shows a growing trend. Obesity among college students not only leads to impaired physical health, but may also lead to discrimination, low self-confidence and self-efficacy, and even depression. Although traditional exercise methods can help college students with weight management, many college students do not enjoy these traditional physical activities. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new form of exercise that is different from traditional exercise to get college students moving. Thus, obtaining the recommended level of physical activity. With the progress of information technology and the popularity of electronic devices, the frequency of college students using computers and mobile phones has increased. Taking advantage of college students\' interest in screen games, it is a new way to control sedentary behaviours and obesity by converting static screen usage time into dynamic screen usage time. Active video games (AVGs) are a new type of video games, which require players to complete the game by interacting with the images on the screen through upper limb, lower limb, and whole-body movements. Studies have shown that playing active video games produces more energy expenditure and physical activity than sedentary video games (static games). The variety of research on AVGs is promising, but the population of participants in the studies has been mostly children and adolescents. The college student population, with a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, has a high prevalence of screen time. It is especially important to intervene with overweight and obese college students using AVG to shift their interest from screens to exercise, thereby increasing physical activity intensity. Therefore, this paper will systematically investigate the effects of AVGs on physical activity, mental health, and body composition of overweight and obese college students in China.