Are 'exergames' the key to baby weight loss?
Pic: Getty
Many women feel under pressure to shift their baby weight fast these days, but for most, there is neither the time nor the confidence to head straight to the gym once there's a little one around.
According to new research, however, getting back to that pre-pregnancy weight could lie with video games.
Related Searches
A study, published in the International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, found that new mums who could squeeze in 45 minutes on the Wii Fit three or four times a week were able to shift more than 50 per cent of their baby weight - and average of 11lbs over a three-month period - and reduced their body fat by up to 28 per cent.
The eight participants used the jogging, yoga, skate boarding and hula hooping games on the Wii Fit, and their weight loss results will no doubt encourage other new mums to try 'exergaming'.
The researchers suggested that not only would it help women to slim down without having to face the gym, but that fitness games were more easily squeezed in, given the demands on time a new mother faces.
Dr Kirsty Elliot-Sale, a senior lecturer in exercise physiology at Nottingham Trent University, told the Daily Mail: "This study has shown how dynamic interactive gaming can be a fantastic alternative to traditional exercise for new mothers."
%VIRTUAL-AFCSponserAds%
She added: "Crucially, being able to exercise in this way, in the comfort of your own home, means that women are not hampered by the challenges they often face with traditional exercise.
"In addition, exergaming can be used to help ease new mums back into exercise after a period of abstinence, and get them back up to speed before engaging in more vigorous and traditional forms of exercise."
Did the Wii Fit help you lose your baby weight? Leave your comments below...
