Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women
Virtual reality has been found to be a useful tool for positively influencing relevant psychological variables in order to increase physical activity (PA), especially in the overweight population. This study investigates the use of avatars and their physical variations to extend the effectiveness of...
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doaj-4167aa5dab234645a2eb0f4bd2f129662020-11-25T03:25:12ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012020-06-01174045404510.3390/ijerph17114045Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight WomenJessica Navarro0Ausiàs Cebolla1Roberto Llorens2Adrián Borrego3Rosa M. Baños4Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainNeurorehabilitation and Brain Research Group, Instituto de investigación e Innovación en Bioingenieria, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, 46022 Valencia, SpainNeurorehabilitation and Brain Research Group, Instituto de investigación e Innovación en Bioingenieria, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia, 46022 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainVirtual reality has been found to be a useful tool for positively influencing relevant psychological variables in order to increase physical activity (PA), especially in the overweight population. This study investigates the use of avatars and their physical variations to extend the effectiveness of existing interventions to promote PA. The main objective is to analyze the influence of the avatars’ body dimensions on the efficacy of an Internet intervention to increase PA levels and improve other relevant variables (motivation toward PA, enjoyment, anxiety, self-efficacy, and PA goals). A total of 42 overweight women received a brief online intervention, and they were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: the “Ideal avatar” (IAC: participants are represented by avatars with ideal body dimensions); the “Real avatar” (RAC: participants are represented by avatars with participants’ current body dimensions); and the “Non avatar” (NAC: participants are not represented by avatars). Results showed that the online intervention was effective in increasing PA practice and self-efficacy expectations. However, manipulating the body dimensions of avatars did not improve this intervention, although ideal avatars helped to reduce the anxiety experienced during PA in this population.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/11/4045physical activityoverweightvirtual realityvirtual environmentsavatarsintervention |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jessica Navarro Ausiàs Cebolla Roberto Llorens Adrián Borrego Rosa M. Baños |
spellingShingle |
Jessica Navarro Ausiàs Cebolla Roberto Llorens Adrián Borrego Rosa M. Baños Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health physical activity overweight virtual reality virtual environments avatars intervention |
author_facet |
Jessica Navarro Ausiàs Cebolla Roberto Llorens Adrián Borrego Rosa M. Baños |
author_sort |
Jessica Navarro |
title |
Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women |
title_short |
Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women |
title_full |
Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women |
title_fullStr |
Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women |
title_full_unstemmed |
Manipulating Self-Avatar Body Dimensions in Virtual Worlds to Complement an Internet-Delivered Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Overweight Women |
title_sort |
manipulating self-avatar body dimensions in virtual worlds to complement an internet-delivered intervention to increase physical activity in overweight women |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2020-06-01 |
description |
Virtual reality has been found to be a useful tool for positively influencing relevant psychological variables in order to increase physical activity (PA), especially in the overweight population. This study investigates the use of avatars and their physical variations to extend the effectiveness of existing interventions to promote PA. The main objective is to analyze the influence of the avatars’ body dimensions on the efficacy of an Internet intervention to increase PA levels and improve other relevant variables (motivation toward PA, enjoyment, anxiety, self-efficacy, and PA goals). A total of 42 overweight women received a brief online intervention, and they were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: the “Ideal avatar” (IAC: participants are represented by avatars with ideal body dimensions); the “Real avatar” (RAC: participants are represented by avatars with participants’ current body dimensions); and the “Non avatar” (NAC: participants are not represented by avatars). Results showed that the online intervention was effective in increasing PA practice and self-efficacy expectations. However, manipulating the body dimensions of avatars did not improve this intervention, although ideal avatars helped to reduce the anxiety experienced during PA in this population. |
topic |
physical activity overweight virtual reality virtual environments avatars intervention |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/11/4045 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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