Video games have long been characterized as sedentary activities that involve staring at a computer screen and engaging only the mind and the thumbs. However, plenty of recent games, such as "Dance Dance Revolution," "Step Mania" and "Dance Central," encourage users to get up and move, and some even record the calories you burn as you engage in a fun activity like dancing.
How a Game Works
"Dance Dance Revolution" is available on Play Station Two. The game first appeared in video arcades in the late nineties. The game comes with a dance mat that is placed on the floor in front of the screen. The mat has a variety of squares that flash in time with the music at different frequencies. The object of the game is to move your feet and land on the right square of the mat in time with the music. There are various intensities and difficulty levels you can work through as you improve your score. Some versions of the game show you how many calories you are burning as you go along.
Burning Calories
The American Council on Exercise conducted a study to test the efficacy of the "Dance Dance Revolution" game at improving fitness levels in kids and adults between the age of 12 and 25. The results showed significant increases in the heart rates of the volunteers while using the dance pads on the intense setting. This correlated with a calorie-burning rate of 9.4 calories per minute -- or 564 calories per hour on the difficult mode. This equals the calorie burn when riding a bicycle at 12 to 14 miles per hour or doing high-intensity aerobics for an hour.
Regular Use Results
The study noted that if used regularly, the dance game could lead to "significant weight loss" as well as an increased likelihood of users sticking to an exercise regime. A sensible weight-loss rate is about a pound a week. In order to achieve this, you must create a calorie deficit of about 500 calories per day or about 3,500 a week. The American Council on exercise showed that the dancing game allows you to burn more than 500 calories if used for an hour. In April 2007, the New York Times reported that schools were increasingly using it in physical education classes.
Considerations
Even though you can burn a lot of calories using this dancing game daily, this alone is not enough to fulfill all of your exercise requirements. The federal government has published exercise guidelines for adults that include muscle-strengthening, weight-bearing exercises at least twice a week. You must also follow a healthy and balanced diet plan in order to lose weight. Consult your physician before embarking on a new exercise and diet regime.
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