Energy Expenditure and Enjoyment of Active Television Viewing

This study examined energy expenditure and enjoyment during sedentary television viewing (SED-TV), stepping in place during television commercials (COMM-TV), and physical activity prompted by common character phrases/mannerisms within a television program (PA-TV). Adults (N=38, age: 27.0+ or -8.0 years, BMI: 25.4+ or -4.2 kg/m2) completed three 30-minute sessions in random order: SED-TV, COMM-TV, and PA-TV. Energy expenditure and heart rate were assessed during each session. Enjoyment was assessed after the initial experimental session and at completion of the study. Energy expenditure was greater in the active versus sedentary sessions (COMM-TV vs SED-TV: difference = 32.7+ or -1.9 kcal, p3.0 METS was lower in SED-TV (median = 0 minutes) compared to COMM-TV [median = 4.0 minutes (Inter-Quartile Range: 0.8, 7.3)] (p50% of age-predicted maximal heart rate. Both COMM-TV and PA-TV were reported to be significantly more enjoyable than SED-TV. COMM-TV and PA-TV resulted in higher energy expenditure, more minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, and higher reported enjoyment compared to SED-TV. These findings have implications for reducing sedentary time during television viewing, which may impact health-related outcomes. Intervention trials are warranted to determine the effectiveness of these strategies.