Video Games used to be only for the young (or young at heart), but Nintendo Gaming Systems have come out with something that bridges the divide between old and young, between grandson and grandparent, between active and inactive.

In the 1980s Atari came out with a home video game system.  As a child I remember sitting on the floor staring at my television for hours as I played Pac Man and Defender.  As I got older video game systems got more sophisticated, but the basic premise of having to sit in front of the television remained the same. Then last year Nintendo changed everything with the creation of the Nintendo Wii.

The main difference between the Nintendo Wii and all other video game systems is that it gets you off your behind and gets you active.  Nintendo comes with a sports package and hand held controller that require you to move as you would during any sport.  While playing the bowling video game you must raise your arm as if you were bowling.  The tennis package has you moving side to side as you hit the ball back to your opponent. 

Recently I tried the boxing game and found myself exhausted by the time the game was over.  Not only are these games fun to play, but they are also good exercise.

Many seniors through their days of playing sports were behind them, but the Nintendo Wii relights that spark.  Agnes Ackerson an 87 year old first played Nintendo Wii a few months ago, since then she has found she cannot wait to play the games (once her daily chores are done) and has a few friends that will come over and play the games with her (many of the games can have multiple players).

Jane Roy, an exercise physiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said Wii games are beneficial for seniors who otherwise wouldn’t be active at all.

“Obviously, anytime when you can be doing physical activity instead of being sedentary, you’re going to be burning calories, and that’s good,” Roy said.

A 2006 Mayo Clinic study showed children burned twice the calories playing Wii compared to playing regular video games, she said. Wii games also can be strenuous enough to raise the heart rate, she said.

But having fun during exercise is the key advantage Wii has over other exercise regimens, Roy said. “Generally, people don’t stick to exercise programs because they don’t enjoy the activity,” she said.

Her only concerns are whether the novelty will wear off or whether people might suffer injuries. “It will be interesting to see if Wii players develop tennis elbow,” she said.

Even players of simulated games should approach the activity gradually, she said.

Virginia Wadley, a UAB clinical psychologist in the School of Medicine’s division of gerontology, geriatrics and palliative care, said some computer activities can increase senior’s ability to pay attention, divide their attention and rapidly process information.

In very limited studies, those skills are shown to transfer to activities such as driving a car, Wadley said.

“The advantage of that (Wii) program is that it combines the physical and cognitive,” Wadley said. “It’s novel. It’s enjoyable and engaging. The question is whether the activity you need to play the Nintendo game is really enough.”

In a current UAB study of older adults, Wadley and other researchers are comparing the mental and health benefits of exercise and computer-based training, alone and in combination.

“We haven’t studied Wii games, but it seems the same principle might work,” she said. “I know people are excited at the prospect that it might be beneficial.”

Nintendo Wii’s are showing up at many senior centers and Adult Day Centers where the staff is making use of this new technology to get the seniors exercising while also teaching them about new technology.  The seniors are learning how to plug the game unit into the television, turn on the system, load the games, choose the number of players they want and play the game. 

The best part of the owning a Nintendo Wii is the renewed interaction between ages.  My nephew and his grandmother both play the sports games together and it has created quite the bond.

Right now the only downside is that the Nintendo Wii is so popular that most stores are selling out very quickly.  I tried calling almost store in Austin and all of them stated they were off the shelves.

If you wanted to purchase one the best bet might be to go to Amazon.com and purchase one and if they are not in stock, they would send one out to you the moment they got more in stock. 

For more information go to Amazon.com

Nintendo.com