Work at play

Active gaming systems aren8217;t exercise enough for your child, says new research

Seven-year-old Devina Grover just wasn8217;t getting any exercise. The Delhi girl would return from school and be glued to her PlayStation for the rest of the day. 8220;Whatever little exercise she got was in the physical education classes in school thrice a week,8221; says Tarasha, Devina8217;s mother. Then Tarasha bought Nintendo8217;s Wii, an active gaming system using a motion sensitive controller that requires players to move while playing. 8220;After an hour on the Wii, Devina would look exhausted from the exercise,8221; says Tarasha. But it wasn8217;t enough.

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, active gaming does not provide enough energy to have a significant impact on fitness, certainly not enough to fight childhood obesity. Researchers at the University of Liverpool compared the calories burnt by six boys and five girls aged 13-15 while playing Xbox 360 and the Wii. The results showed that the participants burnt 60 calories an hour playing Wii, a two per cent increase from the energy burnt while playing on the Xbox.

8220;Active gaming does not provide a good enough stimulus to produce health benefits and cannot be compared to real exercise,8221; concurs Dr A.K. Aggarwal, internal medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. 8220;For a comprehensive cardio workout, I suggest the parents get their children to go out and play some real sport,8221; says Aggarwal. On the other hand, there8217;s the school of thought which believes that while active gaming is no substitute for real exercise, it8217;s better than no exercise at all.

8220;The lifestyles of children today are such that they prefer to sit in front of the TV or computer instead of going out nbsp;and playing,8221; says fitness expert Leena Mogre. 8220;An active gaming system is a good way to get your child off the couch. Once they are getting some exercise, they will be more inclined to get out of the house and become interested in some real sport,8221; she adds.
Take 10-year-old Aaryaman Bakshi. An overweight child, he didn8217;t like sports until his parents bought him a Wii. 8220;After a few months of playing on his Wii, Aaryaman showed interest in soccer at school,8221; says Jyoti, his mother.

Now, Aaryaman takes tennis and soccer lessons, besides of course spending an hour on his Wii daily. 8220;The swinging and punching on Wii made him want to do the same on the field as well,8221; she says.