Nintendo Wii Sports vs exercise at gym: you having a laugh

I agree that palying a Wii in no way competes with the Nautilus, free weights, and treadmill trifecta. However, the point to be made is that many individuals are moving more than they ever have before because of the Wii (and moving is a good thing, because most all of us – young and old – don’t do it enough).

I have personally seen the quality of life for senior citizens improve as a direct result of the Wii. For example, one individual at a Senior Citizens home got to the point where she couldn’t make the walk to pick up her own mail from her mail slot – she just didn’t have the stability and stamina. Well, two months on the Wii (it is a twice-weekly group activity for her), and she was able to steadily walk from her room, to the elevator, to the mail slot and back on her own. Not only could she do it, she wanted to do it (she had broken through a malaise that I often see from many of the residents at the Sr. Citizens Home I visit). This wasn’t a super cure by any means. It was just a way to get this lady to move her body (organizing a bus ride to the gym with a personal trainer would have had better results, but there is no funding for that sort of thing and she certainly woulnd’t have considered that “fun”.)

People, young and old, are burning calories, building muscle, and interacting with others while having fun. These are all good things. For sure, you aren’t going to get six-pack abs from the Wii. Those that make such assertions are overreaching quite a bit. However, can we all agree not to diminish or overstate the Wii’s proven value to our health in that it has taken a completely sedentary and often solitary activity and injected some movement and camaraderie? I don’t see a downside.

ORLY!?

What a useless article. The game isn’t even supposed to be a fitness games…

Chintendo Vii Rulz