Britain's NHS thinks so – but watch out for Pilates injuries, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL

SO MUCH FOR the stereotypical image of video gamers as couch-bound, pizza-eating, fizzy drink-swilling layabouts, who see exercise as one of life’s needless interferences. A new game from Nintendo may be about to shatter the cliche and prompt a whole new generation of gamers to get physical. And what’s more, health authorities, traditionally the gamers’ adversaries, appear to be giving it a ringing endorsement.

The Nintendo Wii Fit Plus, due out this weekend, has secured permission from the NHS in Britain to use it's "Change4Life" logo in its advertising. The Change4Life programme promotes more exercise and healthier eating among adults and children, and the partnership is seen as a first between video games and a government health authority. Wii Fit Plusis an updated version of the Wii Fitgame that enables gamers to undertake all manner of exercises, from yoga to skiing, from the comfort of their own consoles.

A spokesman for the British department of health denied it was endorsing a video game, but said rather it was promoting exercise. “Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving,” the spokesman said. The HSE says there are currently no plans to endorse the video game in Ireland, but adds that the organisation is “always looking at ways to promote the national physical activity guidelines and is open to looking at new ways to encourage people to get the required level of physical activity for good overall health and fitness”.

Suzanne Griffin, a Pilates instructor with a studio in Cork, says she is not surprised officialdom is beginning to take notice of exercise through video gaming. Many of her clients use Nintendo Wii programmes at home to keep up their fitness levels between classes. There is a danger though, she warns, that people could injure themselves by attempting complex exercises without supervision. “I know that a few of the ladies in my classes enjoy using it and as a result find stuff we do in class familiar. But if a person doesn’t know how to warm up properly and goes gung-ho into it without proper techniques, they could hurt themselves.” Griffin says fitness instructors are beginning to befriend technology, and many instructors in the US now offer podcasts of exercise programmes, downloadable onto a client’s mobile phone. “For some, maybe those with newborn babies, or obese persons not confident in a class or gym setting, video games and DVDs are ideal,” she says.

Dingle BB owner Robert Ashe remains unconvinced. Ashe purchased a Nintendo Wii for his teenage daughter, and bought her the accessories, including a fitness mat and assorted games, that go with it. “She did it for a day or two and didn’t bother with it again,” he says. Ashe himself tried the exercise routine, but found he too was unable to maintain interest once the novelty factor wore off. “In my opinion, if the HSE started promoting this here, it wouldn’t be right,” he says. “Everyone knows exercise is good for you, we don’t need a video game to tell us that. Also, the Nintendo Wii is an expensive thing. You have to get the mat separately from the exercise game and the whole lot could add up to €500. You could go for a run every morning and it would cost you nothing.”