Pediatric journal boasts about benefits of exergaming
by Griffin McElroy 
on Jul 19th 2009 5:30PM
Kids-focused health journal Pediatrics
recently published a study that would
shock those who decry the health benefits of
exergames. The study, which was performed by researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, measured young people's energy expenditure while at rest, while playing
Dance Dance Revolution at two different skill levels, while walking and running on a treadmill and while boxing and bowling on
Wii Sports. That sounds like more physical exertion than we go through in a
year.
Some of the comparisons between these activities yielded somewhat unsurprising results -- playing the video games burned three times the calories the kids spent at rest,
of course. However, the researchers also found that playing these games was a comparable activity to "moderate to intense walking," despite the fact that
Wii Sports requires little lower-body movement. It seems that for the first time in recent memory, we've got
science on our side. Hooray!
[Via
Kotaku]
