Since its launch several months ago, the Nintendo Wii has received some negative press for folks who hurt themselves, others or inanimate objects. The site Wiihaveaproblem.com tracks the carnage, which includes kids getting accidentally smacked by family members, a dislocated knee, twisted ankles, cuts and contusions.

It’s not all bad news for Wii owners. Twenty one hours of Wii ‘training’ over a six week period (15 minutes per session) helped this guy lose 9 pounds, drop about 2% body fat, lower BMI by 1.2 and lower resting heart rate 14bps. According to the less scientific Wii Fitness Age (WFA), the subject started at age 46 and was as young as 20 during the testing period. The WFA measures speed, balance and stamina using three random sports tests.

This carefully conducted experiment was well documented along the way and reveals which games burn the most calories. Boxing burned the most calories, at approximately 500 calories an hour. For comparison, actual real-life boxing burns calories at about twice the rate. Consider though, that no one is punching you in the face (usually).

I’ll stick to traditional workouts myself, but why not double-up those workouts with some productive gaming? Time to put on the tennis shirts, headband and Rod Lavers. Here is a time lapse of the 6 week Wii workout…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=F3vmRcS71NY