The latest video craze is thanks to the Wii and complimentary games like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active. These “exergames” have made fitness enjoyable by allowing physical activity to be fun, challenging, and adventurous. These fitness video games are great for improving eye-hand coordination, balance, stability, and stamina; all of which you can do at the gym as well.

Although the sweaty gym or health club may not be the most enjoyable place to spend an hour or so of your day, the benefits are endless. I understand that driving to the gym is an inconvenience and full of germs and people you may not want to talk to, but suck it up and hit it hard!

I strongly believe there is no substitute for exercise itself. Although “exergames” do a good job, exercise cannot be imitated. Cardiovascular training can be done anywhere and everywhere, but there is no exception for weight training. Weight training has been proven to increase bone density and lean muscle mass, improve posture, and reduce the risk of future injuries, which is not something you’ll be able to accomplish with your video game.

As a fitness expert, I encourage you to proceed with your normal workout routines (cardio and weight training) and let the digital workout world be an added benefit to your physically active lifestyle. In other words, don’t rely on video games to get your physical activity, use them for fun and additional exercise.

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Gym Workouts More Beneficial than Fitness Video Games

Just released during the first week of October, the Wii Fit Plus has a few added tricked-out features which will help inspire even the glued-to-the-television couch-potatoes to stand up, press play and get moving.

The latest version includes more exercises like three additional yoga, three additional strength-training workouts and mini-games to its original menu of workouts, in addition to expert guidance that teaches you how to get the most calorie burn out of your workout.

Plenty of recent research has shown that daily food journaling is an effective way to lose weight, control portions and maintain weight once your diet goal has been met. Wii Fit Plus capitalizes on this growing body of evidence with its new food journal that allows you to input what you ate, how much you ate and how many calories you consumed. It then subtracts your food intake from the calories burned during your workout.

Remember that the interface system keeps track of your data including weight, height, age and BMI. This information allows the program to calculate how many calories you burned during your workout as well as how far you need to go to meet your health goals for the day. Just keep in mind that its reliance on BMI as its sole computation of progress is not the only way to track weight loss and fitness goals.

If you already have the original Wii Fit, you can upgrade for $19.99. If you’re a Wii Fit newbie, the entire package including the Balance Board, exercises and virtual trainers can run about $99, $10 more than the first edition.

Here is DietsInReview.com’s complete review of the new Wii Fit Plus.

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Nintendo’s New Wii Fit Plus

As a follow-up to her Fitness Ultimatum 2009, this new game challenges players to a Hell Week-style boot camp featuring one-on-one workouts and all-new core exercises in cardio training, strength training, and balance training super-set routines. The game includes new additions like the “Fitness Resolution” in which you plan your six-month workout routine with a training schedule and the “Exercise with Jillian” component, which provides you with a one-on-one game with a 3D avatar of Jillian Michaels that demonstrates pre-made or custom routines.

The Pocket Trainer 2010 will be available this fall and is a portable game that allows you to track your workout routine and progress through the innovative “My Diary” feature. And with more than a dozen real-world exercises and Jillian Michaels’ tough love and supervision, you can take advantage of the trainer’s signature challenging workouts to get in the best shape of your life.

Pre-order Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum for Wii (available October 6).

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Jillian Michaels to Release Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for Wii and DS

You may still be right about the Big Gulp, though.

The report by Dr. James B. Weaver III of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine  say they found a “measurable” associations between playing video games and health risks.

According to the survey, the typical adult video game player is overweight, introverted and probably somewhat depressed. The researchers hypothesize that the video gaming for adults is a sort of “digital self-medication.”

“In short, they literally ‘take their minds off’ their worries while playing a video game,” the investigators note in their report.

The Internet-based survey included people from 19- to 90-years-old from the Seattle-Tacoma, Washington area (is there a 90-year-old playing Grand Theft Auto?). They were questioned about their health and media habits.

Of the 552 respondents, more than 45 percent identified themselves as video game players. Fifty-six percent of those were men, which indicates a surprisingly high percentage of female gamers.

The researchers report that a higher body weight and greater number of “poor mental health days” was found with adult video gamers as opposed to the non-gamers.

Dr. Brian A. Primack of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine sees a difficult tight rope that needs to be walked:

“How do we simultaneously help the public steer away from imitation play-like activities, harness the potentially positive aspects of video games and keep in perspective the overall place of video games in our society?”

It’s probably an unanswerable question. Only the individual can determine that they will allocate a healthy amount of time to video games while still trying to be social and active.

(via: Yahoo)

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Video Gamers Not So Young, or Fit

These new EA Sports Active workouts will greatly expand their current database of more than 25 calorie-burning, muscle-toning exercises and activities in addition to access to daily progress reports and virtual personal trainers that you can use from the comfort of your own home.

Here’s a closer look at these new workouts:

• New Warm-up and Cool Down Stations: Four new exercises will warm up your body before a workout routine and four cool down exercises will stretch the muscles after a workout and help maintain flexibility.

• New Abdominal Exercises: Four new workouts target your mid-section and will help tone your core.

• 6-Week Challenge: This total-body, structured fitness plan accommodates both experienced 30-Day Challengers and new users of EA Sports Active. It works out all major body parts, adapts to your level of fitness and lets you track your progress week by week.

Compatibility with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer: These new workouts will transfer your data from the Active Personal Trainer and carry over your previous goals and trophies from four previous weeks of working out with the Active Personal Trainer.

If you’re a Wii enthusiast or know someone who is looking for a fun and cost-effective way to get in shape this winter, you can easily cross off one holiday gift from your list right now.

Order your EA Sports Active More Workouts today!

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EA Sports Active Launches More Workouts for Holiday Season

Last month the new EA Sports Active was released. It’s a revolutionary new fitness game for the Wii that came with much hype. We finally got a chance to try it for ourselves, and have to say we’re quite pleased with the results.

We found the EA Sports Active to be superior to its Wii fitness competitors because it seamlessly mimicked our movements, set-up was simple, and by the end we felt like we’d completed a legitimate workout. Sweat, shortness of breath and all!

Watch our demo now, and then learn how you can get the EA Sports Active for yourself!

Like what you see? Ready to get in shape at home with the EA Sports Active?

Then, log-in to your MyDIR account before July 1, 2009 using Facebook Connect. Using your existing Facebook account, you can create or log-in to MyDIR, the free weight loss and healthy living community here at DietsInReview.com.

Complete your profile, set-up your goal tracker, and add your favorite diets, recipes, videos and more. Then, check back often to record your weight loss progress and interact with other MyDIR members.

DISCLAIMER: Eligibility requires a log-in to your MyDIR account using Facebook Connect prior to July 1, 2009. Users must complete their profile, including mailing address, to be eligible. One (1) EA Sports Active will be sent to a winner drawn at random from eligible entries. Winner will be notified via their MyDIR account and prize will ship to the address provided in their profile. DietsInReview.com is not responsible for lost or stolen packages, nor failed shipments due to user providing an incorrect address. DietsInReview.com may replace the prize with one of equal value if prize is not available; not redeemable for cash.

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EA Sports Active Demo and Giveaway

Update: The release date was pushed back to October 6, and the game is now available.

In February we mentioned that there was the possibility of a new Biggest Loser Wii game. Our suspicions have been confirmed and this fall you’ll be able to workout right alongside Jillian, Bob and even former contestants in your own home. Biggest Loser The Game releases October 19 and will be available for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. This interactive health and fitness video game is being called “the first game where everyone loses,” and with personalized fitness and nutrition support, you’re sure to lose big!

“NBC’s The Biggest Loser show has transformed so many lives across the globe,” said Randy Shoemaker, vice president, global brand management, THQ, developer of the game. “The Biggest Loser video game will help Nintendo players everywhere achieve that same success at home. The video game offers fun, innovative work-out routines and functions as a complete, personalized health and fitness experience, giving players the tools they need to change their bodies and change their lives.”

Players will be lead through workouts and aided in reaching nutrition goals by star trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, as well as the show’s host Alison Sweeney. The game is set at the infamous Biggest Loser Ranch and will allow players to compete against former contestants in four, eight, or 12 week challenges. Or, you can compete against a friend or family member and learn who really is the Biggest Loser! Just like on the show, players will participate in structured workouts, weekly challenges, weigh-ins and eliminations.

The workouts include upper and lower body, core strength, cardio and yoga. You are also able to record off-game activities you participate in like walking, running or biking.

“The hardest part of getting in shape and staying fit is knowing what to do, as well as maintaining the desire to stick with it,” said Bob Harper. “The Biggest Loser video game incorporates years of research and proven results taken from The Biggest Loser television show. This program offers personalized fitness and nutrition goals to give players the tools they need to lose weight and keep it off. ”

One of the tools we see contestants using at the ranch is a healthy diet. The Biggest Loser Wii game will include 50 healthy Biggest Loser recipes that have been published in their New York Times Bestselling books. Additionally, the game includes a calorie counter where you can record caloric intake and receive recommendations based on your goals.

For your on-the-go lifestyle, take your Biggest Loser support with you via the Nintendo DS. Track calories, receive recipes, dietary tips and encouragement from the trainers.

The Wii version will cost $39.99 and the DS version will cost $29.99.

Stay tuned for more Biggest Loser Wii news and reviews from DietsInReview.com.

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Biggest Loser Wii Game Releases October 19

The workouts range from basic to extreme based on your desired intensity level. For those gamers looking for more than the Wii Fit has to offer, the Sports Active product is a more robust and comprehensive lifestyle and exercise manager. It has extensive workout and food journal capabilities for those activities that happen outside of your living room. Catalog outside exercise activities and foods you eat throughout the day in the system for a more holistic view on your progress toward a healthier lifestyle.

While at the event we caught up with Donny and Kari Claxton to check in on their results from the 30 day challenge. Donny and Kari were very enthusiastic about Sports Active, and the lifestyle change it has brought to them and their entire family. Donny told DietsInReview.com that he is now down 24 pounds in just 30 days using Sports Active and in addition his family is now taking up more traditional exercise activities, playing tennis, swimming, and more walking.

“The most life changing 30 days of my 43 years … we have made a holistic change on what we eat at home, what we feed our children and how we exercise” – Donny Claxton

Find more information here on the EA Sports Active and don’t forget to keep up with Claxton’s. Photos from the event are on our Flickr page.

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EA Sports Active – On Tour

There’s an interesting New York Times article on the widespread injuries inflicted upon Wii enthusiasts. The author even reports a pop in his left shoulder after playing Wii tennis.

If you’re not familiar with the Wii phenomenon, gamers use a handheld, wireless remote where you mimic the motion of the activity in the video game. This could include tennis, boxing, bowling, among others.

“It’s great in the concept that it gets people active and involved,” said Dr. Brian Halpern, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. “It’s not great in that you get lost in that and are overloading areas that you haven’t worked out in a long time, if ever.”

Dr. Halpern says he’s treated two types of injuries: traumatic injuries like twisted knees and sprained ankles from playing Wii in confined spaces, and repetitive stress from lengthy play.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Wii Fit system, or currently own one and have been fortunate enough not to fall victim to an injury, here’s some handy advice: you don’t need to exactly mimic the real-life motion. You don’t need to make a full swing when a flick of the wrist is usually enough.

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Is Wii a Medical Liability?

Here’s a nice background video on the event, including interviews with participants:

The challenge brings together 2,000 fifth and sixth graders and 20 members of Congress to race across the country. Well, not literally. What makes the challenge interesting is that it’s a cyber race, in which the participants power a cartoon horse avatar by taking real steps monitored by a pedometer.

“We have an explosion of obesity, as far as Americans are concerned,” says Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). “There is more time on videos, there is more time being schlepped to school, there are more opportunities for people to avoid simple common sense activities that make a difference. This is what is so great about the challenge is that it engages young Americans to do something that young Americans of a generation or two ago did.”

The American Horsepower Challenge is a part of a trend known as “exergaming” that incorporates exercise or some form of movement into video games. The most famous example of this is the popular video game platform Wii.

The brilliance in exergaming is that it makes fitness fun and challenging. That’s the perfect combination. especially if you’re at all competitive.

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Humana Challenges Kids and Congress to a Race