Feasibility and effects of a multicomponent program incorporating esports on physical and cognitive function among older adults: A non-randomised pilot trial.
A multicomponent program incorporating esports showed potential for high retention and adherence among older adults with no adverse events, and adjusted analyses showed more favourable changes in gait speed and balance in the intervention group than in the control group.
Key Findings
Results
The multicomponent esports program demonstrated high feasibility with no adverse events and no participant dropouts during follow-up.
No adverse events were reported throughout the 12-week trial.
Zero participants dropped out during follow-up.
10 of the 12 intervention participants attended 80% or more of the weekly sessions.
All participants reported enjoying the program.
The study was conducted in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan with community-dwelling older adults aged 60 or older with no prior digital gaming experience.
Results
Participants in the intervention group showed more favourable changes in gait speed and balance compared to the control group.
Adjusted analyses revealed statistically significant between-group differences in gait speed and balance (p < 0.05).
The intervention group attended weekly 90-minute sessions consisting of health education, exercise, and esports for 12 weeks.
The authors note that 'the effects on physical function remain uncertain because the analyses were exploratory.'
The control group consisted of 14 participants who did not receive the intervention.
Results
Positive psychological status scores increased from before to after each session among participants in the intervention group.
Psychological status was assessed as a within-session measure, comparing scores before and after each of the 12 weekly sessions.
This within-session improvement in psychological status was observed specifically among intervention group participants.
Psychological status was one of several outcomes assessed, alongside physical function, cognitive function, and body composition.
Methods
The study enrolled 26 community-dwelling older adults with no prior digital gaming experience, allocated to intervention or control groups in a non-randomised design.
Inclusion criteria required participants to be aged 60 years or older, have no cognitive impairment, have no major health problems, and have no prior experience with digital games.
12 participants were allocated to the intervention group and 14 to the control group.
The trial was a parallel, non-randomised controlled pilot trial.
The study protocol was registered with UMIN-CTR (ID: UMIN000055350), with first registration on 27 August 2024.
Conclusions
The authors conclude that larger-scale randomised trials are needed to confirm the effectiveness of the intervention program.
The authors explicitly state that 'analyses in this study were exploratory.'
The pilot nature and small sample size (n = 26 total) limit the ability to draw definitive conclusions about efficacy.
The non-randomised design is an additional limitation noted implicitly by the trial description.
Despite promising feasibility indicators, the authors emphasize uncertainty regarding physical function effects.
What This Means
This research suggests that combining esports (organised competitive video gaming) with health education and exercise into a 12-week weekly program is feasible and well-accepted by older adults who have never played digital games before. In a small pilot study of 26 Japanese adults aged 60 and older, no one was harmed by the program, no one quit, and everyone said they enjoyed it. Most participants (10 out of 12) attended at least 80% of the sessions, and participants reported feeling better psychologically after each session compared to before it.
The study also found that participants in the esports-plus-exercise program showed greater improvements in walking speed and balance compared to a control group that did not participate in the program. These are meaningful physical abilities for older adults because declines in gait speed and balance are associated with falls and loss of independence. However, the researchers are careful to note that these physical function findings are exploratory due to the small sample size and non-randomised study design, meaning participants were not randomly assigned to groups.
This research suggests that esports-based programs could be a promising and enjoyable approach to supporting the physical and mental well-being of older adults, particularly those with no prior gaming experience. However, the study was a small pilot trial designed primarily to test whether the program was practical and acceptable, not to definitively prove it works. Larger, properly randomised trials will be needed to confirm whether these benefits are real and how large they are.
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Nemoto Y, Otsuka F, Suzuki S, Kataoka S, Nakanishi T, Ueda T, et al.. (2026). Feasibility and effects of a multicomponent program incorporating esports on physical and cognitive function among older adults: A non-randomised pilot trial.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357666