By now you’ve heard of Nintendo’s Wii Fit, the first hit video game marketed as an exercise tool. In the beginning of last year, the Wii Fit was the best-selling video game in the US and had sold more than 6 million units.
Lets stop here for a second…A game that teaches yoga poses and calisthenics is outselling games that teach warfare and auto theft. For a fitness professional that’s music to my ears…
While many fitness experts don’t believe the ‘exergames’ will solve our nation’s obesity problem, “some exercise is better than none.” And “some” is more than many people get. But can they really work? There are several research studies happening right now to find out what benefits and results can be seen from using the ‘exergames’.
For people who have been inactive for a while, using the ‘exergames’ can be a good way to ease back into regular fitness, and may inspire some to join real yoga or fitness classes. These games can also promote fitness as fun.
At the start of the Wii Fit craze, the games were light on the workouts (such as a three-minute hula-hoop sessions), but games that are more demanding and more interactive are on the way. The future of ‘exergames’ could bring games that track heart rates and provide more challenging programs, even possibly include virtual group workouts connecting users to a live coach.
I’ll be interested to see the results of the ‘exergames’ effectiveness studies.
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