Recent research suggests that the Wii Fit pales against Wii Sports in terms of improving gamer fitness. Such a finding rather flies in the face of Nintendo’s marketing of the exercise title.

A small study of 16 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 24 underwent Wii Fit training to determine the effect the title can have on health. After establishing a baseline fitness level for each participant, each was then subjected to six activities chosen from the game for their ability to aerobically challenge (Free Run, Island Run, Free Step, Advanced Step, Super Hula Hoop, and Rhythm Boxing). Out of these six activities, Island Run and Free Run had significantly better results than the rest. However, neither of these two games was seen to ‘to maintain or improve cardio respiratory endurance’ as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

One of the researchers suggested that Wii Sports might better combat gamer “wobble”. “You’re better off doing Wii Sports than Wii Fit. In Wii Sports there’s more jumping around, and you’re not constrained by having to stand on the balance pad. I just think there’s much more freedom of movement and you get a better workout.” For some of us, just going to buy the game from the shop is tiring enough!