Physiological, psychological, and performance diffe rences between Wii fitnes s gaming and traditional gym exercises

Abstract Video gaming systems market themselves as tools for promoting physical activity or physical therapy. In thisinvestigation, we wanted to compare the Wii console system game EA Sports Active to traditional gymexercises using five activities: basketball passing, basketball shooting, biceps curls, body squats, and jogging.Our hypotheses were that: (1) physiological demand would be greater in the gym than on the Wii, (2)psychological measures of exertion would be greater in the gym than on the Wii, and (3) performance wouldbe poorer in the gym than on the Wii. Ten young adults participated in the study, completing all five exercisesin both settings. Heart rate recordings were higher for four of the five exercises when performed in the gymversus on the Wii, though estimations of caloric expenditure in the jogging exercise did not differ between thetwo settings. Ratings of perceived exertion and difficulty were higher in the gym versus on the Wii for half ofthe exercises but not different for the remaining ones. For the basketball exercises, accuracy was consistentlylower in the gym versus on the Wii. These results support use of active video gaming to ameliorate inactivityor to help in physical therapy and rehabilitation, but point out important differences between the gym versusWii exercise that are important in determining which may be better for general exercise, skill-building,promoting recovery.