Household chores burn more calories than Wii Fit
Household chores such as cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming the stairs burn more calories than a burst on Wii Fit, researchers have found.
The popularity of Nintendo’s virtual gym, which costs £230, has rocketed amid promises to help people get fit from the comfort of their own homes.
But experts at magazine Which? Computing compared the games console to a list of everyday household chores, concluding that sometimes the old ones really are the best.
Researchers compared 10 minutes of housework against 10 minutes of activity using Wii Fit. They found that the volunteer using the console burned just 25 calories, while the person cleaning the bathroom burned 34 calories and the person vacuuming managed 42 calories.
In the same amount of time, another volunteer managed to burn off 115 calories on the treadmill.
Which? Computing said the Wii Fit Plus recently won the support of the Department of Health’s Change4Life campaign – the first game to do so.
“But if you are serious about losing weight this year, you may want to try other forms of exercise,” said the magazine.
“Our investigation has found that you can burn more calories by doing common household chores like cleaning the bathroom or vacuuming.
“And when it comes to more traditional methods of exercising, the Wii Fit fails to match the treadmill in terms of calories burned but it does give the stationary bike a run for its money.”
The magazine says that losing weight is achieved by burning calories, with every 3,500 calories burned torching a pound of fat.
Andrew Colley, the magazine’s expert is a personal trainer and former head of sports therapy at West Ham United FC.
“I can see value in the Wii Fit but I can’t say I am buying into the expensive adverts for this machine,” he said.
“The amount of calories you burn will depend on how much you weigh and how hard you are working. Using a treadmill or a cross trainer will automatically burn more calories because you are standing up and taking your own body weight and using your upper body as well.”
In other words Dust readers, if you are serious about getting in shape this new year, buy a pair of Marigolds and jump on the treadmill.
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