New research suggests that video games may be a source of moderate or intense physical activity in children.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville found that playing active video games "could be a decent substitute for more standard outside activities," The Journal reported.

"Our study shows video games which wholly engage a child's body can be a source of physical activity," Hollie Raynor, director of UT's Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory and associate professor of nutrition, said in a statement. "Previous studies investigating active video games had not investigated the energy expenditure of these games as compared to unstructured outdoor play. The purpose of the study was to compare energy expenditure to unstructured outdoor play."

For the study, researchers recruited children between the ages of 5 and 8 were given three accelerometers -- one for the hip and one for each wrist. The accelerometers on the wrists were placed to better assess upper-body movement, which may be very different in outdoor play compared with playing an active video game.

They found a significant difference between active video gaming and outdoor play. The accelerometer located on the hip of participants, with active video gaming having a greater percentage of moderate to vigorous intensity than unstructured outdoor play.

Based on their results, researchers concluded that active video games may be a good source of physical activity for younger children.

The findings are detailed in the Games for Health Journal.