Tuesday, September 7

BREAKING NEWS! NEW Active Video Games Energy Expenditure Study Released!

"Wii Don't Have the First Clue about Exergaming" say Wiisearchers

I came across this gem of a study that's been published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. The wiisearch, from New Zealand has stumbled across some ground breaking findings...

- Playing Active Video Games (AVGs) uses more energy than doing nothing.

- Playing Nintendo Wii is no more active than aimlessly walking in circles.

Wow guys, this is impressive stuff. Who knew?!

What is the complete waste of time in this study is that researchers, co-authors, peer reviewers and editors have been tied up on the most pointless and over studied "exergame" in history. It would not surprise me if Nintendo have fronted the money for this work, which they do under a number of covert "charities" and "consultancies". If this is the case then I have been too harsh on the academics of New Zealand.

What would NOT have been a waste of time would have been comparing OTHER exergames against Wii. Gamercize is easily four times more energy expenditure than Wii Sports and almost infinitely more sustainable (due to the ability to play any game on Xbox360, PS3, etc etc).

At this point I do wonder - the "no news wii" stories are damaging the reputation of exergaming and undermining the effectiveness in the eyes of the public - is this deliberate by the Journal? Make your own mind up at http://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(10)00154-4/abstract




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