Wii Sports Is Not Exercise (Really!)
So the British Medical Journal performed a cross sectional study that compared energy expenditure in adolecents when playing new generation and sedentary computer games. And you know what they found? Bet you can guess! Go on, try!
They took six boys and five girls, aged 13-15 and monitored how much energy they expended while playing four computer games for 15 minutes each. The sendentary game was Project Gotham Racing 3 on the Xbox 360, and the active games were Wii Sports' Bowling, Tennis and Boxing. Obviously, they learned that the energy expended playing Wii Sports is more than when playing regular console games, which is barely above just sitting there like a lump. Your thumbs might get stronger, but that's about it! And in another revelation of no surprise, turns out playing Wii Sports can't compare to actually playing the sport in question. Well, duh. Of course, they did conclude that even the marginal increase in physical activity involved in playing Wii Sports games could still be helpful in weight management.
What surprised me was that according to their study, Tennis used the most energy, above Boxing. That's weird, because I always thought Wii Boxing was much more physical than just swinging your arm around. I would sometimes break a sweat!
So basically gang, don't think you can just make a New Year's Resolution to play more Wii Sports and get in shape. It's going to take actual exercise. Yeah, I know, I know... Look, just be like me and stop caring! It's more fun that way!
Wootini
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 28 December 2007
· Comments (15)
Other stuff like this: bowling, boxing, british medical journal, exercise, nintendo, project gotham racing 3, study, tennis, wii sports, xbox 360
Yay for flimsy pretenses to have pictures of jaw-droping shirtless men on the site!
I resemble that insinuation, my good sir! ;-)
This article (though it's been picked up by a bunch of blogs as well as traditional news sources) was a joke. The same edition of the BMJ also had an article titled "Origins of magic: review of genetic and epigenetic effects".
See here.
yummy pic!! wait.. what game is this about? lol
Is that Jason Statham?
I totally expect to see a Men's Health article on Wii Fit when it's released. It's just up their alley.
Of course, you know, I read it for the articles. Yeah.
Well, if you take 10 kids and then you say "play!", why should they put any physical efforts in it?
You can play boxing, tennis and all the other games from your couch, doing some Potterish Wandflicks.
Today's study: ...failed!
Anyboy else has a Mens Health subscription "just for the articles"?
Hm. It was a spoof?
Now, the magic one is obviously meant to be a joke, but the gaming one was presented so straightforward and it wasn't actually funny to me, so I never even thought it was a gag. Go figure.
Guess intellectual humor goes right over my head...
But I got to run a photo of a shirtless Jason Statham, so I'm not too bothered!
Yeah! I subscribed to Men's Health "Just for the articles." I fast-forwarded through their sex sections because that did nothing for me.
Dude that is one of the best covers ever! He is super sexy and I am surprised that I never pounced on him when he came to my coffee shop. GRRRRR!
I don't think I could've resisted... meow
The body's nice, but the face... :|
I know that my arms got worn out from an hour of boxing :[
...plastic bucket...swing off handle...