Virtual Reality Exercise for Young Adults at Risk of Digital Gaming Addiction

NCT07718763 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: INU-TUSEB-5438854388
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 34
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Digital game addiction is associated with reduced physical activity, increased sedentary behavior, and adverse physical and psychosocial health outcomes in young adults. This study aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a physiological biofeedback-integrated virtual reality (VR)-based exercise intervention for young adults at risk of digital gaming addiction. In this prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial, participants will be randomly assigned to either a VR-based aerobic exercise group or a traditional aerobic exercise group. Both groups will participate in supervised exercise sessions twice weekly for 8 weeks. The primary outcome is physical activity level, while secondary outcomes include functional capacity, muscle strength, physiological responses during exercise, digital gaming addiction severity, exercise enjoyment, and intervention usability.

Conditions

Internet Gaming Disorder

Keywords

Virtual Reality; Physiological Biofeedback; Exercise; Digital Gaming Addiction

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Physical Activity Level

  Physical activity level will be assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). The primary outcome will be the total physical activity score expressed as metabolic equivalent minutes per week (MET-min/week).

  Baseline and Week 8

Secondary Outcomes (10)

• Functional Capacity

  Baseline and Week 8

• Shoulder Abductor Muscle Strength

  Baseline and Week 8

• Knee Extensor Muscle Strength

  Baseline and Week 8

• Mean Heart Rate During Exercise

  During each exercise session throughout the 8-week intervention

• Maximum Heart Rate During Exercise

  During each exercise session throughout the 8-week intervention

Study Arms (2)

Virtual Reality-Based Aerobic Exercise

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive a supervised virtual reality-based aerobic exercise program integrated with physiological biofeedback twice weekly for 8 weeks.

Behavioral: Virtual Reality-Based Aerobic Exercise

Traditional Aerobic Exercise

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will receive a supervised traditional aerobic exercise program matched for exercise intensity and duration twice weekly for 8 weeks.

Behavioral: Traditional Aerobic Exercise

Interventions

Virtual Reality-Based Aerobic Exercise BEHAVIORAL

Participants will perform supervised aerobic exercise in an immersive virtual reality environment twice weekly for 8 weeks. Exercise intensity will be individualized using heart rate-based physiological biofeedback and progressively adjusted according to participants' physiological responses.

Virtual Reality-Based Aerobic Exercise

Traditional Aerobic Exercise BEHAVIORAL

Participants will perform a supervised structured aerobic exercise program twice weekly for 8 weeks. Exercise intensity will be individualized according to target heart rate and progressively adjusted throughout the intervention.

Traditional Aerobic Exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Young adults within the eligible age range specified in the study protocol.
• Currently enrolled as a university student.
• Playing online digital games for at least 2 hours per day.
• Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) score ≥32.
• Apparently healthy with no diagnosed chronic disease.
• Able to participate in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.
• Willing to provide written informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Presence of cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, musculoskeletal, or other medical conditions that may interfere with safe participation in exercise.
• Use of medications that may affect exercise performance or physiological responses.
• History of injury or surgery within the previous 6 months that may limit physical activity.
• Contraindications to aerobic exercise or virtual reality use.
• Inability to complete the study procedures or refusal to provide informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Istanbul Nisantasi University: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Internet Addiction Disorder; Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Technology Addiction; Behavior, Addictive; Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: This is a single-blind study. Outcome assessments will be performed by an assessor who is blinded to group allocation. Due to the nature of the interventions, participants and treating physiotherapists cannot be blinded.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor, PT, PhD

Model Details: Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two parallel groups: a virtual reality-based aerobic exercise group or a traditional aerobic exercise group. Both groups will receive supervised aerobic exercise twice weekly for 8 weeks. Exercise intensity in the virtual reality group will be individualized using heart rate-based physiological biofeedback.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2026
• First Posted: July 22, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): September 25, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 25, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 25, 2027
• Last Updated: July 22, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07