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Sometimes the world of "research" baffles me a bit. For instance, I just ran across an article in the New York Times reporting on a recent "study" financed by Cake Media and a public relations consultant for the Nintendo gaming company that shows that children playing the Wii video games simulating sports activities don’t expend as much energy as if they actually played the games in real life.
I don’t don’t know about you, but my first reaction after reading this was … Duh. I mean, come on, I don’t think that takes a lot of sparks humming around the grey matter to figure that one out.
The research was very precise in it’s results. Playing a game of Wii tennis, for example, (an interactive video game created by the Nintendo gaming system), expended around 179 calories an hour. Wii Boxing burned only 174 calories an hour. (Now that one did surprise me. In real life, it seems like boxing would burn more calories; not to mention a few bruises.) Playing a game of real tennis, on the other hand, used 318 calories an hour and punching a boxing bag burned 382 calories. (See, I was right.)
The study also measured the number of calories that children burned while playing traditional, sedentary video games. They found that, while the interactive Wii games burned more energy than the traditional video games, they don’t compare to the real thing. (How many times can I say "duh" in the same post?)
The "research" was obviously heavily subsidized by the "public relations consultant" for Nintendo. The conclusion of the "study" asserts, and I quote … "While [Wii video gaming] is not going to replace the real thing, it’s certainly moving in the right direction."
Really? Do you mean the fact that kids actually get up out of their chair to play (this is optional, by the way). How about turning off the video game and going outside to throw a ball back and forth (or even up against a wall. THAT would be moving in the right direction.
Call me old fashioned, but I think we should be encouraging our children to play some real games, not to sit mastering an electronic simulation offered in a video game. I know the Wii games are fun to play and they certainly have their place. Let’s just not begin to think that there are any real health benefits associated with "virtual exercise" through video sports games.
If you have a choice … and you should MAKE the choice … chose to engage in the real thing when it comes to exercise. It’s actually a lot more fun and has a lot more benefits to your health. The only exception, perhaps, is the Wii boxing. Virtual bruises probably don’t hurt as much.
Stay Healthy.
Tags: exercise, health, Nintendo, physical activity, video games, Wii
