Good Ideas Blog
Just Dance on Wii and other exergames
Fitness games, or exergames (groan), on motion-gaming systems like the Nintendo Wii, Playstation Move or Kinect for Xbox 360 have had a big effect on exercise amongst young people.
In a recent study in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, researchers from Brigham Young University and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, found that playing active games like Wii Fit or Dance Dance Revolution could reproduce the health benefits of moderate exercise in kids, likened to walking at about 5 km/h (or 3 mph), or more depending on the game played.
In another recent study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, researchers at the American College of Sports Medicine looked at these benefits in an older demographic—18 to 35-year-olds and found that 298 percent more energy was spent through dance simulation games and 322 percent with fitness video games than sitting at rest.