In two of our recent Stand Up & Eat blogs (Just Say No? and Technology and Physical Activity: Foe and Friend), we described the calorie balance dilemma that has occurred in modern times.  That is, the creation of labor-saving devices that keep us from burning calories and the development of some technologies might be able to support us as we try to exercise more.  We now have evidence that one of our culture’s most prevalent couch potato technologies – video games – may actually work to get kids up and moving.

Published recently in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the study recruited 18 children who were six to 12 years old.  Researchers compared the calories burned by each child while they were resting, doing a seated video game, and doing two active video games of different intensities.   One was an active bowling game and the other was a more vigorous action game.  Each child played all the games for five minutes with a five minute rest period between games. 

The results?  Compared to the calories the children burned at rest, they burned 39%, 98% and a whopping 451% more calories while playing the seated video game, the bowling game, and the running game, respectively.

So it appears that playing active video games can result in meaningful amounts of calories burned.  That’s good news.  It remains to be seen if children will choose active video games over sedentary ones when given the option.  Also, we won’t enter the fray about whether or not video games – of any kind – are good for developing brains or the potential concerns about the already high amount of time that children spend indoors.   Still, it is intriguing to think that one of our biggest calorie-burning enemies – video games – may help us activate our kids and reduce their risk of obesity.

What do you think about using video games to promote physical activity?  Write your comment in the blog space below.