Is your New Year’s resolution to get in shape?  Did Santa bring you a WiiFit Plus or an active video game for Xmas to help you achieve your goal? Just how effective is punching the air, running on the spot, holding a yoga pose, and squatting in front of the television in the fat loss stakes?

Active video games (such as those most commonly used with the Nintendo Wii) are still a popular item that turns up in everyone’s Xmas stocking.   The big appeal with these types of games is that you can exercise in the privacy of your own home, not feel silly doing it and fit it in between chores around the home.

A special study at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo, Japan was conducted to see how effective these types of games are in helping to fight the battle of the bulge.

Researchers tested twelve adult men and women and they performed all the activities of the Wii Sports and the Wii Fit Plus for 8 minutes each activity.  In this study, they measured the amount of energy expended and expressed the findings in MET’s.

This is what they found:

Golf came in at 2 MET’s (approx 140 calories per hour)

Bowling: 2.6 MET’s (approx 182 calories per hour)

Tennis & Baseball: 3 MET’s (approx 210 calories per hour)

Boxing: 4.5 MET’s (approx 315 calories per hour)

Yoga activities: less than 2 MET’s

Overall: 67% of all activities were classed as less than 3 MET’s and the other 33% were between 3 to 6 MET’s.

Hmm…what does all this mean?

For starters one MET is equal to one calorie burned per kilogram of body weight per hour. (for example, if you have an activity that is 2 MET’s and you weigh 70kgs, you would, in theory, expend 140 calories per hour doing that activity.)

 Now, this method of calculating calories burned is great if you are working out at a constant intensity for an hour.  In theory, you should burn the equivalent calories if this happens.  However, if you need to stop and start, as you would when you are waiting for the games to load or when you move to the next level or activity, then the amount of calories burned is decreased.  Also, if you don’t keep that constant intensity, then you won’t burn the amount of calories that you should. 

Almost 70% of the activities were less than 3 MET’s.  Sounds great if you use our example (70kgs x 3 MET’s equals 210 calories burned per hour).  Doesn’t sound so great when you consider that if you took a shower or swept the floor, you would expend the same amount of calories per hour.  If you went for a very leisurely walk, mowed the lawn or did some painting around the house, you would burn more calories per hour.

Now, if you actually did all of the sports in reality, instead of virtually, you would be, in most cases doubling the amount of calories burned per hour (how good is that?) This is what you would be looking at burning based on our previous example if you participated in these sports:

Golf, Bowling & Yoga: 4 MET’s (approx 280 calories per hour)

Baseball: 6 MET’s (approx 420 calories per hour)

Tennis: 7 MET’s (approx 490 calories per hour)

Boxing training: 9 MET’s (approx 630 calories per hour)

Powercise/Lean Ladies: 10 MET’s (approx 700 calories per hour)

Boot Camp: 12 MET’s (approx 840 calories per hour)

Not only are you burning a lot more calories per hour, you are getting out, making new friends and are less likely to stop when one level of the activity is over or you ‘can’t be bothered anymore.’  Also, you are more likely to return to the activity again because of the new friends that you have made, which doubles your chances of success.  The other advantage is that there are less scheduled rest periods within the activities and you are less likely to be distracted by the phone, dirty laundry on the floor, the dishes in the sink etc…

The thing that I hear you saying is…”But I can do it at home….I’m too self-conscious…. I can’t go to the gym…this is perfect for me because no-one can see me exercising”.   Then think about this for a minute….if no-one can see you..…then does that same rule apply to the ice cream in the freezer or the chips in the cupboard that might get demolished after a workout because you are home alone and now ‘earned it’ and no-one can see you? 

The truth is, joining a class, sporting club or the gym is not as bad as you might think it is….  Most people appreciate the fact that you are making an effort to do something and start getting active.  Go on, take a deep breath, and step outside your comfort zone.  That is the best New Year’s Resolution you could ever make.

Whilst we applaud Nintendo for trying to get people off their couches and to be more active, if you are looking to lose weight, then this is not the answer.  It is a great starting point for those people who are obese or highly inactive. However, if you are simply trying to remove that spare tyre from around your middle…it will be a long and hard road to fat loss with the Wii.  I think that you would become bored with the games before you see some real results.

So, if Santa has already given you a WiiFit for Xmas, give it a go or add it in to your fat loss programme for some variety and a bit of fun.  However, if Santa didn’t bring you one this year, ask him to save his money and spend it on some group training sessions like Boot Camp or maybe some tennis lessons next year.  You’ll burn twice as many calories in the same amount of time and feel better for it!