Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit Benefits and Doubts

With the many gaming systems out there and with winter and the holidays around the corner, here is a look at a good way to start fitness and stay off the couch (for adults and children) while playing your game system. The nintendo wii and wii fit have been hard to find since its release, here is an article from: http://reporting.journalism.ku.edu/summer08/utsler/2008/07/nintendo_wii_does_it_have_heal.html

The article talks about some benefits the wii and wii fit bring to the table.

With the Wii fit's popularity, recent release and of course being an exercise game people are turning to the Wii fit to get their allotted exercise. Even the Westin Hotel chain has started to use them in their WestinWORKOUT program. But with the increasing popular of the Wii fit, some are skeptical about whether it provides any health benefits at all.

The Wii fit allows a person to exercise using a balance board choosing 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). People can play many games like hula hoop, boxing, running, yoga, basic aerobics and more.



But while many people and places are using the Wii fit for their exercising, experts don’t know actually how much the Wii fit can help people lose weight and stay healthy. Experts believe spending 15 to 30 minutes on a Wii game will not expend the energy that is the same as six to eight hours like a regular workout gives people. The overall feeling of the Wii fit is that it’s not a alternative to regular exercise but could be a great complement or way to starting exercising.

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

While experts say the Wii fit can’t replace regular exercise, they see some benefits from the Wii fit and the Wii itself. It’s a good way to burn calories, help with arthritis, get into exercising and more.

John Moores University conducted a study on the Wii itself and figured out that while the games burn a good amount of calories it’s not comparable to actual 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. But while the Wii doesn’t compare to actual activities greatly, it does beat out its big rival the Xbox. By burning more calories while playing it rather than the Xbox does.

The Nintendo Wii has also released new games for the wii fit balance board, such as Shaun White Snowboarding and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2008. The following video shows the new Shaun White snowboarding trailer, and talks about how the game has incorporated the wii balance board into the game play.





Hopefully there will be more games to come for the nintendo wii and wii balance board, to keep you off your couch and busy through these winter months.