We have all heard of active video games by now. Guitar Hero started the craze, to the tune of $1 billion in sales but Nintendo’s Wii has expanded the genre. Players of all ages can play baseball, fish, box, bowl and even do yoga. These games are much more active than traditional games but are they really any better, health wise? Researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston have been wondering the same thing. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is game where players use a special mat and dance to prompts. DDR has been used successfully in schools, homes and afterschool programs. In order to provide cardio related benefits, new games have to raise heart rates enough to burn calories, so arm and wrist movements are not enough. One positive of these games is the lack of food commercials and the inability to eat and play at the same time. But parents are cautioned that some games have players act out extremely violent actions, in realistic ways. One game on Wii has actual stabbing and punching instead of button presses, so parents need to exercise caution when choosing games.

Link to article go-go_games.html

Link to studies on Video game violence and kids behavior violence.asp