Study Says Exergaming Is Good For Kids

Exergaming has become a hot buzzword in the industry, as evidenced by the success of motion control systems like Wii, PlayStation Move, and Kinect and strong sales of games like Wii Fit and Zumba Fitness. Now, a new study suggest that children who play active, motion control games can see positive health benefits.

The study, published today by the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, was conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of Massachusetts.

The researchers studied six active video games with 39 boys and girls (a fairly small sample size, it should be noted). The participants played games like Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Boxing for 10 minutes at a time. The researchers found that, in certain instances, the energy expended in the gaming sessions matched or exceeded that expended by walking the same amount of time on a treadmill set to 3 mph. However, the researchers did note that more study is necessary before we truly know how effective these type of games are as a workout.