Who would have thought the day would come when video games would be touted as the newest exercise craze….an effective one too!

Time magazine has an article discussing Nintendo’s unintional health benefits of the Wii and anyone who has played any of the games included with the Nintendo Wii can attest to the workout the Wii puts them through.

I have to agree with any kind of activity that gets anybody moving more, and Nintendo may have discovered the elusive secret to engaging the general population in physical activity. They’ve managed to trick people into exercising without realising it.

Who wouldn’t enjoy knocking out the cartoon representation of their friends and family on the TV screen at home? As you turn on the Wii, select your characters and go through the boxing warm-up, you aren’t thinking about completing the round, correct physical technique, or proper breathing.

You are simply focussed on knocking out that bobble-headed character on the screen. Nintendo has managed to bring physical activity into the homes of people who would never consider going to a gym.

We know that as a society, North Americans are among the fattest. Forget trying to promote gym memberships, jogging or sports. All of these things require too much training and hard work! I’m not denying that maintaining a long term exercise regimen requires training and hard work; But one thing at a time…

Nintendo seems ready to cash in on the exercise craze that has started with the Wii by announcing a future release of a health package designed to promote health-oriented activity. The success of these packages has yet to be seen, and I do have my doubts. I think a large part of the Wii’s widespread success was due to the fact that it was not marketed as an exercise modality. It was just plain fun.

Exercise fads come and go and the Wii Workout will likely be no different. Then again, a little exercise is better than none at all and everybody’s got to start somewhere. Nintendo’s Wii is as good a start as any.

Get out there and knockout some bobble-heads!