That's the findings in a study by researchers at John Moores University in Liverpool, England, and published in the Dec. 27 issue of the British Medical Journal.
Admittedly, the study was a small one, and it was designed to measure the difference in energy expended by children when playing traditional, sedentary video or computer games as compared with new generation active games such as those sold for the Nintendo Wii or XBOX 360.
Yet the study showed that active video games are no substitute for the one hour of daily moderate to vigorous activity recommended for adolescents to maintain cardiovascular health as well as a healthy weight.
The Moores Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences study was authored by Lee Graves, Gareth Stratton, N.D. Rodgers and N.T. Cable.
''Activity promoting new generation active computer games significantly increased participants' energy expenditure compared with sedentary games, but not to the same extent as the authentic sports,'' the authors conclude.
Eleven adolescents, six boys and five girls between the ages of 13 and 15, were studied. All were of a healthy weight, competent at sports and regularly played sedentary computer games.
Before the study, each participant practiced playing both the active and inactive games. On the day of the study, participants played four computer games for 15 minutes each while wearing a monitoring device to record energy expenditure.
The participants first played on the inactive ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' game. After a five-minute rest, they then played competitive bowling, tennis and boxing matches on the Nintendo Wii for 15 minutes each with a five-minute rest between sports. Total playing time for each child was 60 minutes.
Energy expenditure was increased during active compared with sedentary gaming. However, the energy expended during active gaming was much lower than that expended while actually bowling, playing tennis or boxing, and was not intense enough to contribute toward the recommended amount of daily physical activity for children.
When translated to a typical week of computer play for the participants, active rather than passive gaming would increase total energy expenditure by less than 2%, the study found.
WINTER POISON
According to the experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the No. 1 cause of poison deaths in the United States is carbon monoxide.
The risk goes way up in winter, when hundreds of people die each year from exposure to the carbon monoxide produced by fuel-burning appliances in and around the home.
''Most cases result from poorly installed gas appliances, running gasoline powered engines in garages, using gas-burning stoves to heat homes, or cooking with charcoal inside homes,'' said Dr. Kurt Kleinschmidt, an emergency medicine and toxicology physician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Carbon monoxide is especially lethal because it can be neither seen nor smelled. It is produced by the incomplete burning of fuels such as charcoal, wood, oil, gasoline, propane, kerosene and natural gas. These fuels often power indoor furnaces, ranges, water heaters, room heaters and vehicles.
In the winter, when people understandably close and seal windows and doors to keep cold air out and warm air in, carbon-monoxide fumes can be trapped and build up to dangerous levels.
Making matters worse, the early symptoms of carbon-monoxide poisoning mimic symptoms of other illnesses. Symptoms include headache, fatigue, shortness of breath and nausea.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center provides the following tips to avoid dangerous exposure to carbon monoxide:
- Make sure all appliances are installed properly and never use natural gas- or propane-powered appliances
- such as stoves - to heat your home.
- Never leave vehicles running in an attached garage.
- Avoid burning charcoal or using fuel-burning camping equipment inside a home, garage, recreational vehicle, automobile or tent.
- Never operate unvented fuel-burning appliances such as kerosene heaters in rooms with closed doors or windows, or in any room where people sleep.
- Install carbon-monoxide detectors in your home and check their batteries regularly.
E-mail Ven Griva at ven.griva@copleynews.com or write to P.O. Box 120190, San Diego, CA 92112.
