Wii is Only 2% Better for Kids Compared to Regular Joystick

Comparison of energy expenditure in adolescents when playing new generation and sedentary computer games: cross sectional study

Playing new generation active computer games uses significantly more energy than playing sedentary computer games but not as much energy as playing the sport itself. The energy used when playing active Wii Sports games was not of high enough intensity to contribute towards the recommended daily amount of exercise in children.

Predicted energy expenditure was at least 51% greater during active gaming than during sedentary gaming. This equates to an increase in energy expenditure of 250 kJ (60 kcal) an hour during active gaming compared with sedentary gaming. In a typical week of computer play for these participants, active gaming rather than passive gaming would increase total energy expenditure by less than 2%; although this figure is trivial it might contribute to weight management. Active gaming used less energy than authentic bowling, tennis, and boxing, and the exercise was not intense enough to contribute towards the recommended amount of daily physical activity for children. Nevertheless, new generation computer games stimulated positive activity behaviours—the children were on their feet and they moved in all directions while performing basic motor control and fundamental movement skills that were not evident during seated gaming. Given the current prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, such positive behaviours
should be encouraged.

Source - Comparison of energy expenditure in adolescents when playing new generation and sedentary computer games: cross sectional study; BMJ 2007;335:1282-1284 (22 December),

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Rick Kaselj - rkaselj@HealingThroughMovement.com

Healing Through Movement - www.HealingThroughMovement.com
Fitness & Rehabilitation / Presentations & Publications

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Obesity Around the World

World Health Organization and Obesity

Obesity and overweight are defined as an accumulation of excess body fat, to an extent that may impair health. A crude population measure of excess fat is the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres). WHO defines overweight as a BMI of 25 or more, and obesity as a BMI of 30 or more. These cut-off points can provide a reference for individual assessment.

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Rick Kaselj - rkaselj@HealingThroughMovement.com

Healing Through Movement - www.healingthroughmovement.com
Fitness & Rehabilitation / Presentations & Publications
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More Bad News about Childhood Obesity

Lifelong Effects of Childhood Obesity

Time - Thursday, Dec. 06, 2007 By Tiffany Sharples

Doctor, firefighter, astronaut. These are the things kids want to be when they grow up. Obese 35-year-old with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease? Not exactly. But according to two studies published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), that's where our children are headed, unless monumental — and immediate — changes are made in the effort to curb childhood obesity.

"This is a public health problem, and public health problems require policies that actually reinforce positive choices," says Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California, San Francisco, a principle author of one of the NEJM studies. "We know that healthy nutritious foods and physical activity are really the keys to preventing excessive weight gain in childhood. We need a concerted effort at the federal, state and local level — across government and industry — to ensure that those things are available to our children."

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Rick Kaselj - rkaselj@HealingThroughMovement.com

Healing Through Movement - www.healingthroughmovement.com
Fitness & Rehabilitation / Presentations & Publications
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