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Study Tries to Debunk 'Wii Fit's' Exercise Effectiveness

by JP Mangalindan on December 17, 2009 at 06:15 PM

In the crushing quest to shed all that unwanted weight picked up over the years -- or just the holiday season -- some might go the traditional route by signing up for a gym membership. Others jonesing for a more creative, entertaining outlet, however, will probably give the popular 'Wii Fit' a shot.

But is Nintendo's collection of stretches and aerobic activities an effective antidote to love handles? Scott Owens, associate professor of health and exercise science at University of Mississippi, doesn't think so. Owens conducted a study for six months, starting in fall 2008, on eight families in Oxford, Mississippi with 'Wii Fit.' The study spanned the three months before they started playing the game to monitor health and habits, and three months after the introduction to the game, studying any changes in fitness, balance, and body composition.

Ultimately, he concluded that 'Wii Fit' did little to benefit the families involved, as time spent with the game dropped 82-percent per household over the course of the study, from 22 minutes a day to six. While kids displayed "a significant increase in aerobic fitness after three months of use," Owens countered the positive finding with the adults' apparently unchanged health. (Perhaps this has more to do with a generational gap than a video game.) Read between the lines of the study, and you'll pick up on the real lesson: as with any activity, 'Wii Fit' does benefit players if it causes a sustained elevation in heart rate for extended amounts of time. Apparently, it's just not fun enough to keep attention in the long-term.

Now's a good time as any to start work on that sequel, Nintendo. [From: Ole Miss via: Engadget and PC Mag]

Tags: nintendo, obesity, obesity epidemic, ObesityEpidemic, top, wii, wii fit, WiiFit

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