Tuesday, November 10, 2009

ACE Announces Test Results on Fitness Benefits of Nintendo's Wii Fit and PC based Exergame Dancetown

Fitness Industry Leader, in Conjunction with University of Wisconsin La Crosse, Release Proven Data that Shows Pros and Cons of Newest Interactive Video Games.
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), released key findings from two separate studies examining the fitness benefits of six of the activities featured in Nintendo’s Wii fit including: Free Run, Island Run, Free Step, Advanced Step, Super Hula Hoop and Rhythm Boxing, and the PC-based fitness system geared toward older adults, Dancetown.
The goal of the study was to test the performance of both exergames and determine if their activities are enough to produce results that meet or go beyond recommended physical activity guidelines. The study found that playing the Wii Fit burns twice as many calories as a sedentary video game, however the authors of the study suggest that playing Wii sports is a better way helping users meet minimum intensity guidelines for exercise. The Dancetown study showed a significant increase in exercise intensity and calorie expenditure for all subjects on all modes of play.
The Wii Fit study, which tested men and women between the ages of 20-24, found that after 30 minutes of play, the caloric expenditure of each of the six activities on average was as follows: Free run 165, Island run 165, Rhythm Boxing 114, Super Hula Hoop 111, Advanced Step 108 and Free Step 99. The Dancetown study, which tested men and women between the ages of 32-70, found that after 30 minutes of play the average caloric expenditure was 136.
Complete summaries of both studies appear in the November/December 2009 edition of ACE's Fitness Matters magazine and on the ACE Web site at www.acefitness.org.

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