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Can I get fit using active video games?
September 1, 2009By Alex Hutchinson
The most recent Jockology column came out last Thursday, while I was hiking in the desert. It appeared as part of a back-to-school package aimed at the health concerns of school-age children, so I decided to tackle active video games, or “exergaming,” as it’s sometimes referred to.
The question
Will “active” video games keep my kid fit during the school year?
The answer
This is a question that has launched dozens of studies since the release of Nintendo’s Wii gaming system in late 2006, and the results of those studies are finally beginning to appear in peer-reviewed journals.
Researchers around the world now agree that “exer-gaming” does burn significantly more calories than traditional video games - but that’s not saying a lot. The real question is whether they burn enough to improve health and fitness outcomes, and the answer here is still up for debate. [read on...]
Alex Hutchinson
Alex Hutchinson is the author of "Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise," published in 2011 by McClelland & Stewart (http://CardioOrWeights.com). He is a senior editor at Canadian Running, and a regular columnist on the science of fitness for the Globe and Mail. Alex competed for the Canadian national team in track, cross-country and road running between 1997 and 2008.
Also by Alex:
- Running makes you smarter
- Actual data on foot strike patterns
- Running for bigger, straighter blood vessels in your brain
Want to read more?
Go to Alex's archive
