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Nintendo Wii: Does it have health benefits?

By Michael Smith

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Nintendo Wii has been one of the most popular video game consoles since its release in 2006. It has recently become even more popular thanks to the addition of Wii Fit, which allows you to exercise via the video game system hooked up to your television.

With Wii Fit’s popularity, recent release and the fact that it’s an exercise game, people are turning to Wii Fit to get their exercise. Even the Westin Hotel chain has started to use Wii Fit in its WestinWORKOUT program.

Wii Fit allows a person to exercise using a balance board and to choose from 40 different exercise games in four categories: yoga, aerobics, balance and strength training. Wii Fit allows you to create your own character, called a Mii, and track your fitness progress through your Body Mass Index (BMI). Users can play a variety of games such as hula hooping, boxing, running, yoga, basic aerobics and more.

While many people and places are using Wii Fit for their exercise needs, health experts aren’t sure how much the Wii Fit can actually help people lose weight and stay healthy.

“Electronic games like the Wii are not substitutes for regular exercise,” says Joseph Donnelly, director of the Energy Balance Laboratory at the University of Kansas. “They cannot give you the same workout as a regular workout.”

In fact, some health experts have estimated that it would take six to eight hours on Wii to expend the equivalent amount of energy of a regular 15- to 30-minute workout.

But while Wii Fit may not be an alternative to regular exercise, it could, however, be a great complement or a way to start exercising, and it can also help with arthritis.

John Moores University in Liverpool, England, conducted a study on Wii and concluded that while Wii Fit games burn a decent number of calories, they’re not comparable to regular workouts.

For example, a game of Wii tennis burns approximately 179 calories per hour, while an actual game of tennis burns 270 calories per hour. The Wii doesn’t compare to regular exercise, but it does beat out its rival, the Xbox, by burning more calories while playing than the Xbox does.

But perhaps most importantly, the release of Wii Fit has promoted a greater awareness of fitness and healthiness. Experts agree this is a great product for people wanting to get started exercising, and especially good for children.

So, if you’re looking to get into shape, burn some calories and have fun while doing it, get yourself in step with Wii and Wii Fit.

Comments

XRgamerNeo (anonymous) says...

This article should edit the 4th paragraph to say, "...SOME health experts..." because there are a good number of us within the Games for Health community that know how exergames CAN benefit one's health.

One of the criticisms I keep running across is that "health experts" keep trying to compare exergaming to traditional exercise and sports. Why can't they just take it for what it is and look at it more as a "gateway intervention" that meets those who are completely sedentary and anti-exercise where they are at?

We know the importance of increasing one's physical activity in daily life (take the stairs, park farther, etc.). Then we have the NEAT project by Dr. Levine at Mayo Clinic, showing that low levels of PA can be very beneficial in improving one's health.

Exergaming has characteristics that help to overcome the obstacles that sedentary people usually have when it comes to motivating them to be more active, and since this is a population that is costing our healthcare system the most, we should encourage exergaming as an outreach intervention to these types of people, not criticizing it that playing Wii tennis is not as physically active as the real deal. Maybe, for that person, that's as real as it'll ever get, therefore, it's real!

August 26, 2008 at 12:14 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

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