The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimates that almost 17 percent of American children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are obese. Obesity is a serious health concern, so parents should encourage and guide their children to be more active on daily basis.
Nintendo Wii
Wii is an interactive video game console made by Nintendo. Nintendo has introduced several popular game consoles over the years, including NES, Game Boy, GameCube, DS and finally the Wii in 2006. The wireless remotes and motion-sensitive detection of the Wii game console allow the player to become a a "part" of the game. Players can control their characters by moving their own body, which has made the Wii sport games popular exercise programs among people of all ages.
Recommended Exercise Amounts for Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children between the ages of 6 and 17 years should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day. Although this may seem a lot, many common activities count toward the 60 minutes. Your children should be getting aerobic, bone and muscle strengthening activities like walking, bicycling, jumping rope, playing games, sit-ups and tree climbing every week.
Video Games and Exercise
Although playing Nintendo Wii video games gets children off the couch, they are not a replacement for traditional exercise, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. The study showed that the Wii bowling, tennis and boxing games were not a real alternative to playing the actual sports and did not burn as many calories. The exercise intensity of the children playing these games was not high enough to count toward the recommended daily exercise amounts. However, the Wii games did burn more energy than playing sedentary video games, so are a better option when it comes to playing video games.
Exercise Intensity Plays a Big Role
Exercise intensity and the number of calories children burn when playing video games varies considerably between different games. Some of the interactive games, like boxing and dancing, can require lot of effort and burn hundreds of calories. But games like baseball and golf may only require as little activity as 60 to 70 calories per hour. You are the best person when judging if playing the Wii video games counts as an activity. If your children's breathing and heart rate increases, they are playing with a moderate to high intensity and definitely burning calories. Encourage your children to play along with the Mii characters as much as possible. This way their exercise intensity and calorie burning will be increased.
