Balancing Act: Can Video Games Really Help You Stay Fit?

ELLEN ROBINSON CONFIDENTLY steps onto the Wii Fit balance board, eager to navigate the ski slalom video game on the TV screen in front of her. Tilting from side to side, she barrels down the virtual icy slope, skillfully steering between the red and blue flags, then gracefully gliding across the finish line--in record time.

"During the downhill slalom game, I used to laugh hysterically when I crashed into the netting along the course," recalls Ellen. "But I just kept going." Millions of active adults, like Ellen, are turning to gaming technology, like the Wii Fit, to improve strength and balance and help avoid real-life falls--the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in people 65 and older in the United States, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

"Falls reveal the importance of frailty as a driver of aging," Mehmet Oz, M.D., tells the Post. "When searching the globe for tools to prolong life, we find that a major predictor of how well we age is the ability to keep physically active, which enables us to maintain muscle mass and balance."

For Robinson, staying physically active was never an issue. The fitness enthusiast incorporates yoga, Pilates, aerobics, and walking into her workout regimen. However, in March 2010, at age 63, she fell, fracturing her knee. Recovery went smoothly, but her strength did not return as quickly as she would have liked. Friends suggested consulting a physical therapist to resolve the problem. While volunteering for a sporting event, she coincidentally met Bryce Taylor, a well-known physical therapist in Indianapolis. When Wii Fit was first introduced, Taylor immediately realized the therapeutic potential of the technology and incorporated the movement-promoting games--yoga, strength training, balance, and aerobics-into his clinical practice.

"Balance is a very complex interaction of multiple systems, and it requires practice just as any other skill," says Taylor, who developed the balance exercises on the following pages. "In my professional experience, there is no better way to practice than to use a fun, interactive platform such as the Wii balance board so that you keep coming back for more."

Research studies on the exercise benefits of video games offer traction to Taylor's observation.

"Research focuses on balance and developing ways to decrease the number of falls in older adults," Katie Bieryla, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Bucknell University, tells the Post. "Last summer, I conducted a study to train older adults on the Wii Fit. After three weeks of training, we saw improvements in different clinical measures of balance."

Dr. David A. Dzewaltowski, professor and head of the Department of Kinesiology at Kansas State University, believes that technological advances can work for or against us.

"Advancements in technology will provide us with tools to either promote physical activity or promote sedentary behavior," Dr. Dzewaltowski says. "No one has found a simple magic solution to being physically active. Lifelong lifestyle activities that people enjoy and can be sustained, such as walking, biking, gardening, and other recreational activities that require movement, are one route to being active. Video games that require activity might be another option worth exploring."

With all the media buzz, I decided to personally purchase the Nintendo Wii game console and Wii Fit, which included the balance board, for a total of $300. It is cheaper than a rarely used gym membership, and when connected to the TV, virtually impossible to ignore.