Fattening videogame systems can now help people lose weight

In January I wrote in this column that one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to lose weight, and I’m happy to report that one of the things that helped make me overweight is now one of the things that’s helping me to lose it.
Back in the early 1980s, my grandparents introduced me to my first videogame system when they purchased an Atari system for their home. My sister and I spent many hours there playing “Pac-Man,” “Space Invaders,” “Centipede,” “Lost Luggage” and even “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a game based on the film of the same name that is considered one of the biggest videogame flops in history because it sold only a fraction of the cartridges made for retail. The rest were buried in some pit in Arizona.
My grandparents were farmers, and the concept of them having something as technologically advanced as a videogame system was mind-blowing at the time. They probably bought it to keep us grandkids occupied when we came over, but my grandpa seemed to play it as much as I did, so he may have bought it for himself.
By the end of the decade, our home had its first videogame system, the Nintendo Entertainment System. My sister and I, along with our father, spent hours playing “Super Mario Brothers,” “The Legend of Zelda,” “Duck Hunt,” “Metroid” and a ton of other classics.
I spent so much time playing them I got fat. Whereas before getting the Nintendo I spent hours outside playing, as we didn’t have cable or air conditioning, after getting it my primary favorite location was on the chair or couch in front of the television playing videogames.
Videogames had some benefits – I learned all the rules to many sports I didn’t care about before, like football, baseball, hockey and even golf, and my hand and eye coordination improved greatly – the negatives greatly outweighed them, as my new videogame-playing body greatly outweighed my old one.
It’s a situation that only got worse as videogame companies came out with new systems and games. I bought them all: the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Nintendo 64, the Sony Playstation and Playstation 2. For every dollar I invested in these systems and games, I probably gained an ounce or two of weight.
I lost the extra weight one summer when I put the videogames away and started running, but it came back within five years after I gave running up in favor of more videogames.
Last summer, having become bored with my Playstation 2, I purchased a current generation system, the Nintendo Wii, as well as a game for it, “Wii Fit,” with a goal of using it to help me lose weight, as this system and its games rely on motion activation to play. Players are required to get off their butts and actively move in order to use it, and with “Wii Fit” people can do everything from yoga to skiing.
The problem is most games can still be played by sitting on your butt and wiggling the controller, and “Wii Fit” is great for improving balance but not for actually working out.
It wasn’t until EA came out with “EA Sports Active” in May that I actually started using my videogame system to actually lose weight.
The game, which comes with a leg strap and resistance band, requires people to run, jump, lunge, crunch, lift, curl, shoot baskets, hit tennis balls, play volleyball, pitch baseballs, roller skate and even dance, through a wide variety of exercises.
The Wii controller, as well as its accompanying nunchuck, keeps track of your movements as you follow along to the game to make sure you are doing everything properly, and the resistance band adds an element that makes those movements a little more difficult.
It’s also Oprah Winfrey-approved, as her fitness guru, Bob Greene, puts people through a 30-day challenge in the game. He sets up a variety of exercises that require between 20 and 40 minutes a day to complete, and which burn between 120 and 250 calories a workout.
I completed the 30-day challenge this week, and although I only lost five pounds, I believe that’s because I gained 10 pounds in muscle mass during that time, which limited my actual weight loss. As I continue, I believe I’ll lose a lot more weight.
In addition to some great workouts, the game also has people keep track of their lifestyle habits, such as how much sleep you get, how much water you drink, how many fast food meals you eat, what your stress and energy levels are at, and how many vegetables you eat.
I discovered that by taking this survey every day I made sure I ate more vegetables, I ate a lot less fast food meals, I drank more water and I got more sleep. I felt guilty when I had to take the survey and didn’t meet the game’s expectations.
Now that videogames are helping me get in shape, I’m hoping someone will invent a game that can put hair back on my balding head.