How effective is Wii when it comes to exercise?

How effective is Wii when it comes to exercise?

Let’s face it. One of the biggest challenges and hurdles that game companies and their employees face is the fact that many people believe that obsessive gaming can have some MAJOR effects on a person’s health. Due to the lethargic habits that most people tend to develop when they become freakishly obsessed when it comes to gaming, their health takes a huge toll from the lack of physical exercise (and no, exercising through flicking the remote does not qualify as a form of exercise). Well, we can never under estimate gaming moguls (or moguls to generalize) when it comes to sniffing out money.
A multi million (or perhaps billion) dollar industry has emerged because of this lack of exercise our nation has developed. And the gaming industry is no turtle when it comes to the money making from exercise race. No doubt, Wii is leaving its competition way behind.

But… How effective is playing a Wii when it comes to exercise anyway? I mean let’s face it, yeah you do need to move around when you exercise, but does the movements that Wii games require you to do really help you get healthier while playing games at the same time (thus, avoiding those weird looking spandex wearing exercise gurus)?

From IGN.com: “The title features upward of 40 different exercises and mini-games designed to get players moving, including aerobics, strength-training and yoga-based challenges…” This excerpt pertains to the certain (and yet another) hyped up game that Nintendo will release for Wii gamers. The games included are obviously based on what’s in and what’s out on the physical gyms out there today. A woman in a green track suit can even be seen happily jumping while using a Wii, which of course, only made the campaign a little bit cheesier than it already was.

And from medpagetoday.com: “For Project Gotham Racing 3, the mean energy expenditure was 125.5 kJ/kg/min.

For Wii Sports bowling, it was 190.6 kJ/kg/min.

For Wii Sports boxing, it was 198.1 kJ/kg/min.

For Wii Sports tennis, it was 202.5 kJ/kg/min.”

Not much effect there, obviously.

But, some people have argued, it is better than not doing anything at all. Probably, its time that someone also point out that people can still exercise without having to open a game console.