Gone are the days of walking, running, biking, or swimming to get in your recommended daily dose of physical activity. According to the American Heart Association, all it takes these days is a little bit of quality time in front of the television with a Nintendo Wii in hand.  That’s right; the American Heart Association has teamed up with Nintendo to promote physically active play as part of a healthy lifestyle. Nintendo’s gaming products, the Wii, Wii Fit Plus, and Wii Sports Resort will now be officially endorsed, sporting the Healthy Check logo, by the AHA starting this summer.

With all of the research that has linked playing video games with obesity, is this initiative really that beneficial to our health? According to Dr. Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association, “we can ignore the audience that is engaged with gaming, a huge audience, or we can find a different way of engaging that audience”.  While it’s true that the majority of Americans spend more than 8 hours per day sitting, active play video games may not do much to improve their health. According to Janet Fulton, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “the amount of activity one achieves from these gaming devices is inconclusive in terms of its benefits on health”.

So why is the American Heart Association, a non-profit organization whose mission is to “Build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke” promoting a product lacking in evidence of health benefits? This is the million dollar question, literally. As a gift for the endorsement, the AHA will receive a reported 1.5 million dollars from Nintendo over the next 3 years which, according to Yancy, will be used for the broad construct of heart health and promotion of physically active play. The AHA argues that there is growing popularity of these video games and that they have to engage the people where they are.

On the other side of the coin, the Wii offers a physical component to video games that may be beneficial for those who already spend a lot of time gaming.  Standing and moving your arm is arguably better than sitting and not moving at all, and though activity on the Wii has been proven to burn more energy than sitting in front of the TV, there is also evidence that active gaming is not a substitute for real sports and activity. Since its actual benefits on health remain unclear, using the Wii console alone as a way to get activity is a poor alternative to the real thing.

It’s true that doing something rather than nothing is better for your health, but the AHA seems a bit too eager to endorse this product when the health benefits are still unclear.  As one of the most recognizable and respected labels, putting its symbol on products that are questionable in their association with health benefits may compromise the integrity of the AHA. Although the AHA may face some harsh criticism over this, one thing is clear, exergaming is the thing of the future whether we agree with it or not.

What are your thoughts on exergaming? Do you consider it to be enough physical activity for yourself?

Has this partnership changed your views of the American Heart Association ?

To learn more about the partnership between Nintendo and the AHA, please visit: http://activeplaynow.com/