Table 3.

Emerging themes and subthemes from the participants’ experience of playing Wii Fit

Theme set	Theme	Subtheme	Example
Specific to the current study
	Enjoyment		P7: I went an hour once and kinda lost track of time. It just kinda motivated me a whole lot.
			P9: What I like about it you didn’t get the impression you were exercising, it was like you were doing a fun game.
		Interactive	P4: I guess I just like when you turn it [Wii Fit] on and the little thing says “good evening” and it will remind that “hey I didn’t see you yesterday”.
		Challenging	P1: When you got the score that you wanted it just means that you were determined to do better.
			P6: It was more like a competition with me who could do what’s best, so that push me to try and do better. [This participant had balance problem and poor stamina].
			P15: It tells me I’m such and such a[n] age. I say, “Oh no I’m not!” I have to keep going at it [playing Wii Fit] until it comes down to what I want to see like 60 something.
		Competitive with an embedded social element	P3: I had someone to compete with that was a lot of motivation for me and competition.
	Health Benefits		P5: I can plan to go somewhere when I exercise. I know I can start the day. Let me just get up and get my little exercise going. So I can do a little housework or whatever, light housework. It helps me to do a little something around the house. I can out to the mall, whatever, and walk around.
			P15: It makes me when I get up, I want to do it [Wii Fit exercise]. Let me just go to this [Wii Fit exercise] so I’ll be able to perform and walk and do what I want to do for the rest of the day. It kinda helps me get through the day. If I miss that day part and I do it in the evening, that helps me too to sleep. I won’t be as restless, awake late in the morning.
	Sense of Accomplishment		P9: It [Wii Fit exercise] may wear you out for half an hour and each day would get shorter, your recovery time. So that helped me to want to do it and it was just amazing that I was able …
	Convenience		P8: I’d rather do the Wii Fit than just go outside and walk or run or do activities outside versus being inside and being able to do it or going to a gym at a certain time and having to put that time in my schedule. … being able to do it on my own time and not having to put it in a schedule where I have to go somewhere and do it. I could be at home doing other things and doing my Wii Fit. So it’s a more motivation to exercise …
	Personalized		P10: … like having a private coach in my house.
Generic to home-based exercise trials
	Ethical principal of keeping a commitment with the intention of helping others		P5: The very best that I do will help to get the information that you need so that we can help others that might have the disease.
	Don’t want to let anyone down		P10: Having the girls [research coordinator and assistant] come, knowing they were coming, kept me motivated to do what I was supposed to do.