More Research Shows That Video Games Can Help You Keep Fit
According to researchers from the University of Massachusetts and Brigham Young University, playing games like Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution provides "moderate to vigorous exercise consistent with current physical activity recommendations." While this may not be the first study to show this (and it can't be any news to our long-time readers), it does show that these games are a means to get people to enjoy exercise.
What may be more important for the future of these games, however, is that this study lends credence to the idea that these games are actual exercise, and not just "waggling" a controller, or pushing buttons with your feet instead of your fingers.
From Brigham Young University's press release:
Below are the games tested, along with the average calories burned per minute of play.Activity - calories burned per minute
Resting - 1.1 calories
Treadmill walking 3 mph - 4.4
Wii (Boxing) - 4.0
DDR (Thirteen) - 4.9
Cyber Trazer (Goalie Wars) - 5.5
Light Space (Bug Invasion) - 5.7
Sportwall - 6.2
Xavix (J-Mat) - 6.7
Note that the authors of this study compared the various games to the treadmill - a traditional form of exercise - and found that all of the games except Wii Sports' boxing out-performed it...and boxing was only 0.4 calories per minute behind the treadmill.
The full article is available at the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Game On: Video Games Give Kids a Solid Workout: [Livescience]
Hal
Posted to News on 9 March 2011
· Comments (5)
Other stuff like this: dancedancerevolution, ddr, exercise, science, wii sports
Oh, there's an article? Sorry, I was too busy looking at the picture.
Thank you for the picture.
Glad to oblige, gents! ;)
...how did I guess all the comments would be about the picture...not that I'm judging, it was my first impulse too.
Don't get me wrong - I think this is a worthwhile point to make, but the study compared these exercises to *walking* on a treadmill. Most treadmill guidance for a walking speed is about 3-4 KPH. That's a stroll. To get your heart rate up you need to be walking on an incline and be faster than that.
And most people I know would want to be comparing an alternative cardio option like this to at least a slow jog, rather than a walk.
Granted, maybe someone is going to play wii fit for longer than they'd jog or run, but I still think the reference point in this study is wrong.