From daily-journal.com:

More importantly, Jones believes the interactive game play enables his family to get plenty of exercise. "You can get worn out playing these games," he said.

For years, video games have been partially blamed for the nation’s epidemic of childhood obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases linked to inactivity. But now fitness experts are trying to determine whether interactive video games are a good way to get fit.

After all, players of the game "Dance Dance Revolution" can work up a sweat jumping on a "dance pad” to hit colored arrows in response to musical and visual cues.

But how healthy are interactive video games? Are doctors encouraging their use as a form of exercise, especially when local residents feel stuck inside in cold winter months?

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From timesonline.co.uk:

Yet it is a scene being created in homes up and down the country this weekend, giving the lie to the claim that harmonious family life in modern Britain has all but disappeared. There may be no piano for a singalong, and the Monopoly board is gathering dust in a corner. Instead, the 21st-century family is bonding around a computer game.

These days home entertainment involves racing against one another in cartoon go-karts, a father taking on his son in a virtual game of tennis, or a mother taking the same exercise class as her daughter. Even grandparents join in. Computer games have become the modern family’s shared experience and the console is the centrepiece of a happy home.

Computer games will outsell music and video in Britain for the first time this year, a report released this week says. This surge for games has been fuelled largely by the sale of family-friendly games such as Wii Sports and Mario Kart .

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From marketwatch.com:

“Nintendo will join a community of 14,000 women gathering for The Women’s Conference, an annual event hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver that celebrates the power of women and inspires them to become architects of change in their communities. Research shows that 40 percent of video game players are women, and that women 18 and older are one of the industry’s fastest growing demographics. At this year’s Women’s Conference, Nintendo will showcase a number of dynamic games that are increasingly popular with women, and that demonstrate Nintendo’s commitment to creating engaging, enriching, and entertaining games that the entire family can enjoy.”

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From presspubs.com:

“Is the Fritch-Gallatin family of Scandia the “Wii Fit Fittest Family?”

The Nickelodeon television network knows. The Fritch-Gallatins know. And on Oct. 9, when Nick at Nite airs the results of its Nintendo Wii Fit Family Challenge game show, we’ll all know.

A few weeks ago, the Fritch-Gallatins flew to Florida and competed in the contest after having been chosen as semifinalists through a nationwide video audition.”

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From sohood.com:

“With gold medal fever still fresh in American viewers’ minds, Nintendo and Nickelodeon are giving fitness fans another heart-pumping event to cheer about. Olympic skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi will host the finals of the first-ever Wii Fit Family Challenge, a fun-packed competition in which three families will compete for the title of Wii Fit Fittest Family by proving their prowess at Nintendo’s innovative Wii Fit. Highlights from the Challenge will air on Oct. 9 on Nick at Nite, interspersed between its prime time programming.

The Wii Fit Family Challenge will feature teams twisting and tilting atop the motion-sensing Wii Balance Board in a series of aerobic, yoga, strength training and balancing activities. Finalists in this extraordinary competition have already been awarded a Wii video game system, Wii Fit software from Nintendo and a Nickelodeon expense-paid trip to Orlando for the Sept. 17 event taping.”

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From techradar.com:

"If, like many, you are getting sick of reading about knife crime on our youth-infested streets, you will be heartened to hear that a new study claims that 4 out of 5 (83 per cent) of people in the UK believe the Nintendo Wii
increases family interaction and made parents ‘feel close to their children’."

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