by Jared Reed  

Balance and muscle strength could get a boost from the new generation of fitness tools, early results from the Wii interactive gaming exercise program suggest.  

Results from a pilot study in Queensland involving ten women, aged between 30-60, showed that balance and lower limb muscle strength showed significant improvement after a ten-week period exercising with Nintendo’s Wii Fit device.  

According to Nintendo’s website, the device lets users test their balance and posture, and conduct aerobic and muscle exercises using a balance board which firsts measures BMI and analyses centre of gravity.  

Study participants were measured before and after the study on balance, unilateral sway and mobility, as well as somatosensory checks on knee-joint repositioning ability, ankle flexibility and muscle strengths of quadriceps, hip abductors and adductors.  

Nintendo markets the product as improving balance, strength, flexibility, fitness and general well-being, but the study showed that changes in proprioception, cardiovascular endurance, mobility, weight change, activity level and well-being were not significant.  

The results on balance and lower limb muscle strength resulting from exercise with the Wii-Fit were promising, the authors say in Climacteric (online 12 Nov), but they need further confirmation by statistically powered studies.