The Nintendo Wii and Wii fit have taken the U.S. by storm by providing an exercising video game that is helping promote health and fitness.
Photo: Nintendo.com
The Smith family is just one of many families that bought a Nintendo Wii and love to play it. They love to play the Wii sports and use the Wii fit, one of the most recent gadgets released for the Wii. The Wii fit is a exercise game and the Smith family loves to use it to help them with their fitness.
Nintendo Wii has been one of the most popular video game consoles since its release. It has become increasingly popular with its latest addition to it the Wii fit: which allows you to exercise via the video game system on your television.
“The Wii is great fun for the family and with the Wii fit it provides a way to get healthy and get back into exercising,” said Roanda Smith, an owner of Wii.
With the Wii fit's popularity, recent release and of course being an exercise game people are turning to the Wii fit to get their allotted exercise. Even the Westin Hotel chain has started to use them in their WestinWORKOUT program. But with the increasing popular of the Wii fit, some are skeptical about whether it provides any health benefits at all.
The Wii fit will take down your Body Mass Index (BMI) and help you keep track of your progress as you exercise with the game.
Photo: Nintendo.com
The Wii fit allows a person to exercise using a balance board choosing from 40 different exercise games in four categories: yoga, aerobics, balance and strength training. Wii fit allows you to create your own character called a Mii and track your fitness progress through your Body Mass Index (BMI). People can play many games like hula hoop, boxing, running, yoga, basic aerobics and more.
Click to watch a trailer of the Wii fit and what it has to offer.
But while many people and places are using the Wii fit for their exercising, experts don’t know actually how much the Wii fit can help people lose weight and stay healthy. Experts believe spending 15 to 30 minutes on a Wii game will not expend the energy that is the same as six to eight hours like a regular workout gives people. The overall feeling of the Wii fit is that it’s not a alternative to regular exercise but could be a great complement or way to starting exercising.
“Electronic games like the Wii are not substitutes for regular exercise. They cannot give you the same workout as a regular workout,” said Joseph Donnelly, Director of Energy Balance Laboratory at the University of Kansas.
While experts say the Wii fit can’t replace regular exercise, they see some benefits from the Wii fit and the Wii itself. It’s a good way to burn calories, help with arthritis, get into exercising and more.
John Moores University conducted a study on the Wii itself and figured out that while the games burn a good amount of calories it’s not comparable to actual workouts. For example a game of Wii tennis burns approximately 179 calories per hour, while an actual game of tennis burns 270 calories per hour. But while the Wii doesn’t compare to actual activities greatly, it does beat out its big rival the Xbox. By burning more calories while playing it rather than the Xbox does.
Doing the Wii exercises and even playing the Wii sports games can help people with arthritis develop a better range of motion. Also with the release of the Wii fit it is starting to promote fitness and healthiness. Experts think this is a great product for people looking to get started exercising and especially good for children.
If you’re looking to get into shape, burn some calories and have fun while doing it check out the Wii and Wii fit. That is if you can find them at any store because of their increasing popularity.
Helpful Links to learn more about the Wii and Wii Fit:
For basic information on the Nintendo Wii click here.
Nintendo.com's webpage on the Wii fit
For more videos demonstrating the Wii fit, Click here to visit GameDaily.com