Playing Active Video Games Can Equal Recommended
Moderate-Intensity Exercise
One-third of Wii sport and Wii fit activities provide
energy expenditures equal to moderate-intensity exercise says Nintendo
funded study
Nov. 16, 2009 – Senior citizens having a difficult
time finding a healthy exercise might consider boxing – on the Wii video
game. A new study says boxing is great, but other video sports games can
increase adults’ energy expenditure as much as moderately intense
exercise.
About one-third of Wii sport and Wii fit virtual
physical activities require an energy expenditure of 3.0 METs or above,
considered moderate-intensity exercise. METs are metabolic equivalent
values, a standard method of estimating energy expenditure, according to
the report.
The average intensities were distributed over a
wide range from lotus focus, 1.3 METs, to single-arm stand, 5.6 METs.
According to the American Heart Association’s
exercise guidelines, light intensity exercise is less than 3.0 METs;
moderate intensity is 3.0 to 6.0 METs; and vigorous activity is more
than 6 METs.
An adult walking at three miles per hour on a flat
surface is expending about 3.3 METs. Adults gain the most health
benefits when they do the equivalent of at least 150 minutes (2 ½ hours)
of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity each week.
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of many
adverse health outcomes and some physical activity is better than none,
according to the American Heart Association.
The study, funded by Nintendo, was presented at the
American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2009 in Orlando.
Researchers used a metabolic chamber to measure the
energy expenditure of 12 men and women, 25 to 44 years old, as they
pantomimed basic moves and motions of these sports and physical
activities with motion-sensing controls. The open-circuit indirect
metabolic chamber consisted of an airtight room (20,000 liters or 15,000
liters).
The metabolic chamber method could replicate the
conditions under which the participants enjoy the games in their home,
because they were free from apparatus used to measure energy expenditure
(EE) when playing the game.
“Energy expenditure is the most important
information to measure the effect of video games,” said Motohiko Miyachi,
Ph.D., lead author of the study and Project Leader of Project for
Physical Activity in the Health Promotion and Exercise Program at the
National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo, Japan.
Researchers found:
● Nine activities had less than 2 METs.
● Twenty-three activities had 2–3 METs.
● Nine activities had 3–4 METs.
● Five activities had more than 4 METs.
“The range of energy expenditure in these active
games is sufficient to prevent or to improve obesity and
lifestyle-related disease, from heart disease and diabetes to metabolic
diseases,” Miyachi said.
Wii sports™ are a collection of five simplified
games based on boxing, golf, tennis, bowling and baseball. Boxing is the
most effective activity to increase energy expenditure, about 4.5 METs,
according to the study findings. Golf, bowling, tennis and baseball are
2.0, 2.6, 3.0, and 3.0 METs, respectively.
Wii fit™ includes yoga, resistance and strength
training, balance and aerobic exercises with more than 40 different
activities, from push-ups to torso twists to single leg extensions.
The most effective exercise is the single-arm
stand, 5.6 METs, regarded as a difficult resistance exercise that
involves standing up and lying down.
The intensities of yoga and balance exercise were
significantly lower than those of resistance and aerobic exercise, but
these exercises are effective in improving flexibility and in fall
prevention, researchers said.
Americans and Japanese are increasingly overweight.
About one-third of adults in the United States are overweight and almost
one-third are obese, according to the U.S. National Institutes of
Health.
“Obesity and overweight is increasing in Japanese
men,” Miyachi said.
“Twenty years ago, only 20 percent Japanese
middle-aged men were obese and overweight, now it is more than 30
percent.”
Miyachi, who also plays active video games,
recommends these active games rather than sedentary video games. The
study’s findings about energy expenditure apply to Americans as well as
Japanese and to younger and older people. An estimated 63 million sets
of Wii sports™ and Wii fit™ were sold worldwide, Miyachi said.
Co-authors are K. Yamamoto, Ph.D.; K. Ohkawara,
Ph.D.; and S. Tanaka, Ph.D.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Nov. 16, 2009 – Senior citizens having a difficult
time finding a healthy exercise might consider boxing – on the Wii video
game. A new study says boxing is great, but other video sports games can
increase adults’ energy expenditure as much as moderately intense
exercise. 
