The American Heart Association, in a recently released study, said that people that log into “active-play” or fitness games are 58% more likely to start full work-out routines. The same study states that those same gamers see up to a 68% increase in general health and activity from when they started playing. Nintendo, the foremost provider of such games both for the AHA and at general retail, stating that 82% of polled families are interested in starting routines with “active-play” games, with male household members being the primary instigators.
“We are looking at active-play video games as part of a realistic approach to fitness,” says cardiac rehab director and American Heart Association volunteer Dr. Barry Franklin. ” We are finding that they often act as a gateway to other forms of physical activity. So as people get up off the couch to play Wii games, they’re likely to stay up and do more – like walking, jogging or playing tennis.”