Wii technology gets older adults moving

2:50 p.m., Sept. 15, 2010----Video games have been blamed for weight gain and lack of fitness in children and adolescents, but Beth Orsega-Smith is finding that the right games used the right way can actually improve health and well-being. Her target population, however, is about 60 years older than the typical video game player.

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An associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition at the University of Delaware, Orsega-Smith is conducting research on the use of “exergames” -- games that require physical exertion as an input to gain feedback from the system -- with older adults.

With assistance from undergraduate health behavior science majors, Orsega-Smith is exploring the use of the Nintendo Wii gaming system to promote not only physical fitness but also mental health. During the past two summers, four students have been involved in the project through UD's Service Learning Program.

A study implemented during summer 2009 by Kerrigan Smith and Christine Kukich at the Newark Senior Center and the Howard Weston Senior Center in New Castle, Del., compared the caloric expenditure of playing various Wii sports games -- bowling, tennis, and baseball -- for 30 minutes.

The calories burned ranged from a low of 18-89 for team bowling to a high of 22-114 for baseball.

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