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Nintendo Wii Fit game and Balance Board (photo: Lucinda May)
The American Council on Exercise (ACE) released study results last week regarding Nintendo’s Wii Fit. Conducted with the help of the University of Wisconsin La Crosse Exercise and Health Program, the study used 16 volunteers, both male and female between the ages of 20-24 to measure the effectiveness of the Wii Fit.
The ACE study concluded that the Wii Fit was underwhelming. The exercise intensity of some of the activities in the game was proven to be lower than expected. Wii Fit’s Island Run and Free Run burned the most calories after 30 minutes of activity (165 calories), followed by Rhythm Boxing (114 calories) and Super Hula Hoop (111 calories).
John Porcari, Ph.D., a member of the research team, says “I guess anything is better than nothing, but we were a little bit underwhelmed with the exercise intensity of some of the exercises. The Wii Fit is a very, very mild workout.”
Wii Fit maybe a good place to start, but ultimately it shouldn’t be your only source of fitness.
Comments
The Wii Fit is not an exercise machine and it is not an exercise program, it is a video game, we need to understand that. There are several online fitness tools, like Holosfitness.com, that can be very helpful to getting and staying in shape. If your looking for health and fitness tools like Holosfitness.com are probably a better bet, but unfortunately they aren't as much fun as a video game.
a game, yes but if one has had problems with flexibility and/or balance Wii Fit, or plus, can be very helpful for bringing oneself into awareness about how deficient or weak these physical attributes are. I believe this is the strength of Wii Fit (plus). The game can be a very good 'first bridge' to an overall exercise program.
I would not rely on it as the study implies, nor do I recommend such.
As for my own experience, I was shocked in how poor my balance was and how weak my hip, leg, and feet muscles were. I am an avid walker, more than 2.5mi every other day, I am engaged in yoga, yard work, and jogging. I've never been coordinated; my insecurity pulls me back from activities such as racket ball, soccer, kick boxing, martial arts, and tennis which failed miserably at.
Wii Fit (plus) is a game, yes, but I would not discount it as a means to bring an awareness to general fitness, and as a bridge to a more credible exercise routine/habit.
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