A Wii bit of Exercise

A recent study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that playing the Nintendo Wii can burn up to 50% more energy than traditional sit down games such as the Sony Playstation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. The study shows that the Wii may be better for children than the sit down games, however are no substitute for real exercise or for fighting the child obesity epidemic.

According to the study, real boxing burned twice as much energy as opposed to the Wii version of boxing and real tennis burned up to 77% more calories than the Wii tennis. Compared to traditional games like the Playstation and Xbox, people playing the Nintendo Wii used roughly 2% more energy overall.

The British study found that the amount of activity brought on by playing the Nintendo Wii was not enough to be counted within a person's recommended daily exercise recommendations but more preferred over the traditional sit down games. Research has shown links with too much sitting leading to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, so further studies would need to be completed to see the long term effects that these kind of interactive games would have on health.


Nintendo Australia's public relations manger Heather Murphy confirmed that the "Nintendo Wii was not a substitute for physical activity, however a great way for people to ease into exercise or to complement what they're already doing." * The report showed that the general consensus amongst parents and children is that playing interactive games should for now be treated as a game and not exercise.

Nintendo have introduced an interactive game called Wii Fit which is setting the bench mark for healthier interactive video games.


*Source - Sydney Morning Herald
*Images- Nintendo Australia