A disproportionate decline in physical activity is evident when young women enter early adulthood (Kwan et al 2012). Traditional modes of exercise, such as cycling, can have unfavourable enjoyment ratings and are rated as ‘hard work’ by untrained adults (Graves et al 2012). Interactive video games (exergames) have the potential to meet current guidelines for minimal daily activity in a novel way. Our aim was to compare the cardiovascular and respiratory responses to exergame cycling with its traditional counterpart in young women. This study is unique in focusing on the responses to traditional exercise and exergaming in the female population. Seven female subjects (aged 20-22 years) completed three exercise sessions. Work capacity and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) were first determined by an incremental test on the static bike. Subsequent sessions comprised 30 mins cycling on the static bike or Wii Fit Plus game (3 x 10 min bouts, with 2 min rest periods). Heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2) and minute ventilation (VE) were measured at rest and during the two exercise modes. Subjects also scored their enjoyment of the exercise and rated their perceived exertion. Both modes of cycling qualified as moderate-intensity exercise, since HR increased to more than 64% of HRmax during the sessions. The increase in heart rate from rest was significantly greater during traditional cycling (TC) compared to exergame cycling (EC), to 152±8bpm and 128±8bpm respectively (mean±SE; n=7; p<0.005 by ANOVA and post-hoc Bonferroni tests). However, both VO2 and VE showed similar increases from rest. VO2 increased by 298±83% (mean±SE; n=7) during the TC session and 211±72% (mean±SE; n=7) during EC; VE increased by 220±53% (mean±SE) during TC and 164±54% (mean±SE; n=7) during EC. These increases were not significantly different between the two exercise modalities (p>0.05). The menstrual cycle had no significant effect on exercise performance in this study. HR, VE and VO2 under all conditions were similar regardless of the menstrual cycle phase, as were VO2max values (p>0.05). Although both exercises generated a similar profile of physiological responses, subjects perceived the exergaming to require significantly less work than traditional cycling (p<0.05; paired t-test) and the level of enjoyment was also greater (p<0.05; paired t-test). Our data show that a 30 minute Wii Fit Plus cycling session represents a moderate intensity exercise, similar to a traditional bike ride. However, young women may be more motivated to engage in this form of exercise as it is perceived to be more enjoyable and less effort. Our results favour the use of this exergame to maintain physical activity in young women.