Lose weight and become fitter by Wii-ing a lot.

By Mike Bantick
Thursday, 18 January 2007 05:52

Opinion and Analysis

I can attest to the work out that Wii sports can give you, but can adding Nintendo’s packaged game to your routine help remove flab?

Using the Wii-mote can be a truly physical experience.  But like most things, once you learn the techniques, the natural tendency is to make less work for yourselves.

For example, when we first started playing Wii Sports Tennis, we were doing the full on tennis motions, full back swing, following through and smashing with gusto.  Thought this is a heck of a lot of fun, after a while it was evident that the game could be played sitting on the couch and flicking the wrist.

The point is that the Wii-mote provides a unique, fun way to play games, especially with a group.  Laughs aplenty and grins all round.

But when the last drink has been drunk and your guests have left you, or you just want some solo play, there is a definite reluctance (especially as a seasoned video gamer) to put the full physical effort in.

I generally get my exercise else where, be it cycling to work, or a game of real tennis.  But, what if I added Wii Sports to my routine? Would I get any physical benefit?

A young lad in the US has decided to do a six week experiment to include 30 minutes of Wii-Sports each day.  He chronicled an extensive before and after series of measurements to test the results.

For the six week period he measured weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), Calories burned per session, Heat rate, Body fat percentage and some additional notes on how he was generally feeling.

He tried to keep his normal routine of regular exercise and eating habits as he had done leading up to the experiment.  What were the results, check page two for a summary.