Nintendo funded a study to measure which Wii Fit and Wii Sports mini-games meet the American Heart Association's definition of a moderate intensity exercise (via Reuters). The National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo headed the study, which measured subjects' metabolic equivalent values, (METs) while playing Wii Fit and Wii Sports.

The study was looking for activities that ranked at 3.0 METs or above (METs test how much energy an activity requires) which is the base number for moderately intense exercises. Wii Fit's Single-Arm Stand took the highest rating at 5.6 METs -- just shy of 6.0 METs, which the AHA considers as vigorous exercise. Wii Sports Boxing also had a high MET of 4.5. The research team's next plans are to track METs in the newer Wii Sports Resort title.

Here are the results of the study.
Wii Fit Single-Arm Stand - 5.6 METs
Wii Sports Boxing - 4.5 METs
Wii Sports Tennis - 3.0 METs
Wii Sports Baseball - 3.0 METs
Wii Sports Golf - 2.0 METs



Tyler says: I did some searching, but couldn't find any similar articles on Dance Dance Revolution. I know that title was touted for helping many gamers lose weight (and break some ankles) so it would be interesting to see where that game falls on the MET scale. Have any GameSpy readers out there noticed any health improvements with Wii Fit or Wii Sports?