Category | News

One man takes the test to see how healthy the Wii can be

Published on January 30, 2007 by The Sentinel

Those born in the mid-eighties are the first generation raised with
home video games. From the Atari 2600 to the first Nintendo game system
to the XBox 360, millions of children have brought a whole new meaning
to the term “couch potato.” This generation and those who have followed
have spent less time performing non-sedentary activities. Between
various TV shows, the Internet and video games, there seems to be
little reason to get out and play. This leads to more issues than
obesity. Other potential dangers are loss of muscle tone, early onset
of carpal tunnel syndrome, bad posture and lack of energy.

It
is easy to say that people need to be more active, but the games are
fun in the immediate moment while the potential health risks are just
that, future potential issues. It is human nature to opt for what gives
pleasure in the here-and-now while avoiding that which is good for us.
It takes willpower to push away from the table if we like to eat, the
beer if we like to drink and the controller when we are striving for
that next level in our favorite game.

Studies compiled by the
Kaiser Family Foundation show several links between video game playing
and overall health issues. Naturally, people who play a lot of games
tend toward obesity and poor health. However, for the hard-core gamer,
becoming a couch potato is not inevitable.

A new console has
been released that is changing the face of gaming. In the past,
movement was restricted to the length of one’s controller cables for
fear of breaking the console but Nintendo Wii utilizes wireless remotes
rather than the standard wired controllers. Furthermore, the games that
are being released for the Wii are geared toward movement.

One
intrepid blogger set out to find out how much benefit he could get out
of a Wii workout. He planned a six-week regimen of 30 minutes of play
on Wii Sports. To be fair, he played the game with no small amount of
spirit. He jumped around and dodged appropriately when boxing, jumped
and swung his “racket” when playing tennis, and even stepped up and
took powerful enough swings when bowling that he inadvertently broke a
hinge on his girlfriend’s G4 Powerbook.

In his personal
experiment, he continued to be as active as normal and did not change
his diet. His weight dropped nine pounds, his Body Mass Index dropped
from 25.2 to 24 and he lost four inches on his waist. He also found
that bowling burned the fewest calories at an average of 77 while
boxing burned the most at an average of 125, both recorded during
sessions of 15 minute periods of activity.

The freedom the Wii
offers enables a greater range of motion than a standard single-unit
controller. Although not a substitute for actual exercise, it beats
being glued to the sofa.