Interactive Video Games vs.The Real Thing

Many kids love interactive video games that involve movement, such as Dance Dance Revolution and Nintendo Wii sporting games. Kids who don't already have them really want them. But can these games help kids lose weight and get fit? How do they compare with real sports? New generations of active computer games stimulate greater energy expenditure than sedentary games, but they are no substitute for playing real sports. One study showed kids who played an interactive boxing game for an hour used 175 calories. But if they participated in a real boxing program, they burned more than twice that amount, 384 calories, in an hour. Interactive bowling used 168 calories in an hour, while bowling at the bowling alley used 192 calories per hour. So there is a difference.