Using Team Supports and Gamified Web-Based Approaches to Attain Recommended Levels of Physical Activity Among International Indonesian Students

Abstract

Introduction: The interactive web-based, blended with tri-axial accelerometer by smartphone Apps, have the potential to help university students adopt and maintain a physically active lifestyle.The purposes of this text was to evaluated a gamification base for International Indonesia students to determine the impacts of a program building with psychosocial base to increase the exercise efficacy to attain a recommended level of physical activity. Methods: A non-equivalent control group with pre and posttest design conducted in 86-Indonesian international students with a time cluster randomize to avoid information contamination between groups. The intervention group received a Social Cognitive Theory skill-building by web-based game with team competition for 10-week program. Outcomes include physical activity, health outcomes, and cardiopulmonary fitness. ANCOVA and McNemar X2 test was adopted to test pre- and post-outcome effects.  Results: The intervention group recorded more steps/day than those in the control (p <0.001, eta = 0.522), more distance (p <0.001, eta = 0.521), greater calories consumption (p <0.001, eta = 0.419), more longer (time) (p <0.001, eta = 0.217), more physical fitness (p <0.001, eta = 0.168), lower body weight (p <0.002, eta = 0.131), lower BMI (p <0.001, eta = 0.149), and lower systolic blood pressure (p <0.007, eta = 0.103). Conclusions: Web-based game with group competition programs can successfully increase physical activity among international university students.The results could serve as a good approach for health professionals to design an effective program toachieve recommended levels of physical activity and the physical fitness.