Wii Sports--the next diet craze?

American man adds 30 minutes of Wii Sports to his day for six weeks and loses a "surprising" amount of weight.

First there was Dance Dance Revolution, a rhythm-based game series first introduced to Japanese arcades in 1998. The game, which is played using a dance pad with four arrows for a controller, has players time their steps to the beat of a song. After Dance Dance Revolution's release in the West, many reported that the game had the added bonus of being adaptable to an exercise routine, with anecdotal tales of significant weight loss due to playing the game.

In January 2006, more than 750 schools in the US incorporated Konami's game into their health and physical education curricula.

A recent study also confirmed that playing activity-based games such as DDR burns up to six times as many calories as traditional games.

Now, one Philadelphia man has claimed on his blog that playing Wii Sports has caused him to lose nine pounds, after playing the game for 30 minutes a day since the beginning of December.

Mickey DeLorenzo, 25, shows "before" and "after" photos of himself on his Web site, along with details of his heart rate, calories burned per session, body fat percentage, and Wii fitness age. He states that he made no other changes to his daily routine other than to add the game to his schedule.

DeLorenzo commented, "I moved my feet, I used full body motion, and I swung my arms to mimic the real thing. If you just stand there and make small moves or sit on the couch and play, I don't think you'll [get] much if any results regarding exercise."

180 Comments

  • eddievh_5150

    Posted Oct 25, 2008 7:36 am PT

    Awesome...that's my brother. I never saw this post before.

  • JAREDJR

    Posted Mar 10, 2007 4:43 pm PT

    if that's what it takes for people to lose weight then I guess that's better than paying to have surgery suck the fat out of you. Of course you wouldn't be fat in the first place if you got outside once in a while.

  • Get_Shorty

    Posted Feb 22, 2007 10:13 am PT

    Yea I hate those people that cheat on the Wii buy just flicking their wrists. You don't experience the whole fun of the game unless you go through the whole motion like your really there.

  • _TheJoker_

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 4:46 am PT

    Wow, hurray for this man and Nintendo

  • Kantoma

    Posted Jan 24, 2007 6:43 pm PT

    Great Job, Brother. it's nice to know some the system can be appreciated in more that one way.

  • Kh3tt1

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 3:21 pm PT

    Pretty interesting, and I can certainly believe it after a few rounds of Wii Boxing.

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 7:04 am PT

    okay, doubtful

  • Dolacide

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 1:12 am PT

    That's funny.

  • ralphikari

    Posted Jan 23, 2007 1:02 am PT

    Get down to the ballparks, golf courses, bowling alleys... Take dance lessons or go to rave parties or something. We're not living in a Matrix world yet.

  • cobrax80

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 9:43 pm PT

    it could make you lose weight, it will get you tired after a few hours of play.

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 9:23 pm PT

    Neat little story. After the strap problems and "holding wee for wii" contest some good pub is always nice.

  • goneing

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 8:39 pm PT

    Despite me being average weight ,my doctor laughed when I told him this. He it would only really be good if the Wii Mote broke my TV, then I went outside. Yhea right doc...

  • darkdaej

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 7:57 pm PT

    meh, this ain't news, obviously if you do the entire movements, especially in the boxing game, you'll burn alot of calories. oh well, seems it HAD to be mentionned at some point in time

  • Elyoshi

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 7:32 pm PT

    This is good for me heh, I dont get nearly enough exercise in the winter months.

    Im actually below average in weight for my height, but I guess its probably a good idea to get a good amount of excercise anyway, to stay healthy...

  • keyser27

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 7:17 pm PT

    Uhm. ps? Boxing I think is where its at, because up around level 900 it starts to really become extremely active.

  • link-rune3472

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 7:12 pm PT

    well now at least 50% will buy a wii

  • Thakingk05

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 7:08 pm PT

    yeah right this as to be p.s. No way. Its not that much motion in tennis, golf, bowling, and baseball for that. I mean how much can u possibly sweat from playing this game. I have to say none what so ever. I smell P.S.

  • joeamis

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 6:43 pm PT

    gccg lol. I read this guys blog and he clearly showed that he did lose the weight using various electronics to track his heart rate, calories burned per sports game, etc.

  • LoWpS

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 6:33 pm PT

    first the PS3 cured illness... and now this??? since when have videogames become so healthy? bring back the old couch potato days...
    nah, i like flailing my arms around.

  • gccg

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:42 pm PT

    Wow, mandating a wii for every american household could go a long way in solving the nation'a obesity problem!

  • PIMPYTHECLOWN

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:30 pm PT

    I can see it now fat people buyin the wii all over the country

  • PainKiller_25

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:27 pm PT

    So mybe Guitar Hero can help ?

  • judog1

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:18 pm PT

    Cool, imagine how many more people will buy the Wii?

  • Mr_Saturn26

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:12 pm PT

    rofl, nice, a new way to exercise, but hey i would settle for a tredmill instead so i can watch tv and exercise, but playing a wii at the same time is good too. Exercise nuts FTW!!!

  • games_pot1

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 5:09 pm PT

    Maybe I was wrong about the Wii it seems really cool. Making people lose weight.

  • jakob_187

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:54 pm PT

    God, of course there would be a ton of noobs knocking something like this:

    Yes, real exercise is effective. We know that. However, if the guy is losing weight, and specifically losing nine pounds since the launch date...which makes this about 12 weeks worth of time, maybe less...then 9 pounds is incredible! DDR helps a ton also, as I did the calorie burn workouts on that, and it proved very effective over the course of 3 months (20 pounds, to be exact). The fact that people are AT LEAST implementing this into their lives is a good stride towards the real thing...

    Not everyone can lift weights, ya know...or run forever...but if they can lose it by flailing their arms around like idiots, like me...then by all means, keep at it, man! And to all you haters...stfu!

  • mjwickstrom1

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:49 pm PT

    I can see it now...

    fat people playing the Wii!

  • pokemon777

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:32 pm PT

    Although I agree, actual sports is healthier, you make it sound like he's trying to create a new diet! EXPERIMENT means, according to the Wiktionary: A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
    Yeah. It doesn't mean he wants to prove it, just saying that video games don't have to make you fatter. Not TOO much better, but not worse.

  • PuffstaJones

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:18 pm PT

    At least fat nerds will be moving when they play wii.

  • Omega3210

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:12 pm PT

    it's a nice idea...

    but if anything should we do...

    it's to get some real excersize!!

    not through a Wii sport

  • BILLNYE6983

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 4:02 pm PT

    How about getting real exercise, this is just another excuse for people to be lazy, and honestly that's what this is, playing the Wii is hardly a workout, I played for an hour and only my hand was sweating, I wasn't even winded (and I was getting into tennis... way too into it...) mostly because none of the games require you to move your body, and actually it probably makes the games harder if you try to (I don't count boxing as you can move your Mii's body with only your hands). You could lose weight while watching TV as well and that doesn't cost $250, all's I'm saying is, you don't need the Wii to flail around like an idiot...

  • Jaeme

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:56 pm PT

    I wonder how many of those calories burned were used in chasing after the wii-mote after the strap broke. A new sprinting based exercise regimen. ; )

  • chibi-acer

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:22 pm PT

    I use DDR for my main workout, but I can see how Wii Sports and Wario Ware can be decent calorie burners too. Way more fun than tooling away at the gym (for every hot person in spandex there, there must be 20 fat people).

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 3:20 pm PT

    Cool.

  • anarchicgoth

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:59 pm PT

    Thats pretty cool... as long as you dont fling the Wiimote!

  • kholdstareo1

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:47 pm PT

    DDR>wii sports for excersie, but whatever. theres such a thing as "could care less"

  • GyRo567

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:41 pm PT

    People considering Wii Sports as a diet method should just buy a Flybar 1200.

  • SuperSteve120

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:28 pm PT

    I love Wii sports, but I don't know how much i could end up playing it for...its most likely not as effective as DDR.

  • UrFaceIzDum

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:28 pm PT

    definitley interesting. Playing Wii Sports on its own still isn't enough, however when incorporated into a more traditional workout plan it would be much better

  • murlow12

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:24 pm PT

    Duh. I'm sure you could lose weight if you played Zelda while running in place, too, but that isn't exactly practical.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:23 pm PT

    well this should bring even more sales to the wii..since a third of americans are over weight, this should work fine

  • StarFoxCOM

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:20 pm PT

    Instersting

  • tdf64

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 2:14 pm PT

    i've always wanted to lose weight in a fun way,and the wii is it,this makes me want to play wii sports more for the weight loss

  • elektrixxx

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:49 pm PT

    Actually, I play this all the time, so maybe I've lost a couple of kilos too.

  • rome_tx

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:32 pm PT

    It's not as effective as really working out but it's great start. Just as long as it eventually goes to the gym.

  • Genuma

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:32 pm PT

    Cool.

  • darth-revan

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:22 pm PT

    this isnt about how gaming can revolutionize your diet, its just a fun thing that people can have fun while still working out.

    Running and excersise for most isnt very fun and its daunting. playing a game isnt so it seems like the wieght loss is an added bonus.

  • caesarbites

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:16 pm PT

    REAL bowling beats Wii bowling anyday, but I guess the Wii helps you lose more weight. Have you been to a bowling alley these days? You'll be lucky to fit into the building since it seems like every league bowler in existence weighs at least 300 pounds.

  • AJC3317

    Posted Jan 22, 2007 1:13 pm PT

    it's definitely a workout, especially boxing

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