Calories Burned With the Wii

History

• The Nintendo Wii is the first game console that requires players move more than their fingers when gaming. Using a motion sensing controller known as the Wii Remote, games are controlled by the movements of the player such as twisting your wrist, swinging your arms back and forth and even mimicking the motions of real life sports such as boxing and baseball. With this movement comes an increase in the calories that are burned during a gaming session, causing the Wii to become a fitness tool as well as a gaming console.

Sports

• Packed in with all Wii consoles, Wii Sports was the first game that caused players to break a sweat during a play session. The game has players participate in several different sporting events such as baseball, bowling, tennis, boxing and golf. While mimicking the actions of these sports, players can create a mini workout. WiiNintendo.net performed a fitness experiment using Wii Sports and tracked the average number of calories burned during each sporting event. According to the website, a 15-minute game of tennis burns 92 calories, while boxing burns 125 calories during a 15-minute session. These calories burned are the result of playing the game as if you are truly participating in the sport. Slightly moving the Wii Remote will not garner the same results.

Getting Fit

• Using an additional peripheral known as the Wii Balance Board, Wii Fit tracks the weight and posture of users, while also providing exercises such as step aerobics, yoga and strength training. The game does not track how many calories are burned from each workout, but these low-impact sessions are more about becoming aware of your body and areas on which you need to work. Users can expect to burn 175 calories per hour of Yoga training using Wii Fit.

High Impact

• EA Sports Active gives users a more intense workout than either Wii Sports or Wii Fit, leading to more calories burned. The game features customized workouts that include running, lunges, resistance band training and boxing. Each workout features a combination of activities and lasts between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on the speed of the player. The main advantage over other fitness games is that the EA Sports Active will predict the projected amount of calories that will be burned during the workout, which range from between 100 to 200. Along with projected amounts, the game features a running total of calories burned during the workout, allowing players to adjust their intensity to burn more or less calories during the workout.

Dancing

• While not exclusive to Wii, the Dance Dance Revolution game series has had several releases on the Wii. This game requires players to use their feet and a dance mat to match arrows that appear onscreen. Burning calories with DDR is directly related to the difficulty level of the game. Unlike fitness games on the Wii, the purpose of DDR is to complete dance moves and not lose weight. Players won't break a sweat on easier difficulty levels, and it takes a great deal of skill to complete the higher, faster difficulty levels, meaning many players won't burn any more calories during a play session than if they were taking a brisk walk.