I apologize for getting into an e-mail frenzy lately but there is so much info out there and I just want to share it with all of you. A friend of mine FB’ed an article issued by The American Council on Exercise (A.C.E.) , a highly prestigious and respected organization, on the benefits of The WII FIT exerciser put out by Nintendo. These findings may interest you.
I will be the first to admit the youth of today are in dire need of exercising and a tip of my Phillies cap goes to Nintendo for recognizing this and doing something about it all the while making boo coo bucks. It is a fun way to get the kids interested in exercise and maybe, just maybe, get the family together having fun competing and overall being a family unit. Bravo! WII FIT has sold over 21 million units and assuming that the time spent playing WII is a substitute for the normal T.V. viewing time then that’s another kudo for the game. So far so good, right? But just how good? A comprehensive study was performed using and maintaining all the parameters of trying to make all things being equal. I won’t get into the small details but for all intents and purposes everybody tested was on the same page. Six of the games most “strenuous” games were played and played and recorded and recorded and data retrieved and the results were underwhelming at best. In all cases it was noted that the calorie expenditure of performing the actual activity vs. the WII is significantly higher. Step aerobics is a great workout because you step onto a 6 inch step as opposed to WII’s 1inch board. Similarly Rhythm Boxing burns just 1/3 of the calories as the real shadow boxing, because the game has instructions prior to each boxing move which has the participant resting. The same follows for Super Hula Hoop, Free Run, and Island Run.
Bottom line, I guess (actually know) that anything is better than nothing. Choosing WII FIT over sedentary living is much better, but soon your child will tire and get bored from this game also. I suggest using these games as a springboard into doing the real thing. A child should have fun exercising or else he will stop. We train youth here and they love it. There is so much more to do at Roberts. And the positive feedback they get from all the trainers can’t be measured. The smile on their faces says it all. Have a wonderful holiday season, Robert