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Are Wii Kidding Our Kids? Researchers warn against using a popular video game system as an exercise replacement for children 
Though video games were never a first choice for physical activity, Nintendo's Wii may be an exception to the rule. The Wii and Wii Fit are proving to be much more interactive activities than the traditional game consoles. According to a Kansas State University researcher, game consoles like the Wii and game Wii Fit actually contribute to the promotion of physical activity for people of all ages. David Dzewaltowski, professor and head of the department of kinesiology at Kansas State, Manhattan, and director of the university's Community Health Institute, says the Wii's incorporation of yoga, strength training, balance and aerobics creates an interactive game that requires each player to physically move. "Anything that gets people to move more than they have in the past is positive, but if people are trying to replace physical activity that demands more movement with the Wii, then that will be negative," Dzewaltowski says. Scott Owens, a researcher at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, is currently studying the Wii game console and its overall effect on family fitness. In the six-month study, which began last fall, eight families in north Mississippi have been loaned a Wii for three months. The study charts each family's fitness with and without the game console in the home. Each family is evaluated through various fitness measurements including aerobics, balance, physical activity and body composition. "Obesity has become an epidemic in the United States, and one of the reasons is the adults and children are getting less physical activity," says Owens, an associate professor of health and exercise science. "This potentially could help family fitness, so we are looking at the research aspect to see if family fitness improves after purchasing one of these whole body movement game consoles." The Wii Fit's similarities to an exercise program, which includes physical activity goals, tracking those goals and evaluating the progress, is what makes it an effective tool for creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Dzewaltowski says. The game's ability to measure a player's body mass index, BMI, which is a weight evaluation based on height and weight, is another great benefit for adults but not suitable for children, he says. "Due to children's age and gender differences in growth, the adult BMI calculators don't work" Dzewaltowski says. "My use of the Wii BMI calculator showed that it was inappropriate for children and would categorize children incorrectly." In Owen's study, each console is attached to software to keep track of how much each family member uses the games and how much movement is involved in that use. The researchers hope to use the data collected from both the software and the fitness measurements to determine the games' effect on each family's overall fitness. According to Dzewaltowski, the Wii provides a bright future for the gaming industry and more interactive games like Wii Fit. "I think there is a great potential to develop ways to promote physical activity through technology," Dzewaltowski says. "Kids innately like to move, so I believe that there is a big future in games that use emerging technologies and require movement because the games will be enjoyed by children and also be more healthy than existing games." |
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