A University of Wisconsin study has determined that playing golf on a Nintendo Wii burns one fewer calorie per minute than hitting balls at a driving range. According to the results, playing the Wii burns 3.1 calories per minute vs. 3.9 calories per minute hitting balls at a driving range.
It of course does not burn nearly as many calories per minute as walking and playing a course (8), but actually comes close to the energy expenditure of those who ride a cart (5).
Of all the Wii sports games, boxing burns the most calories, at 7.2 a minute. Tennis burns 5.3.
Note that neither of those is as much as walking through a round of golf.
You can read the whole study here.
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The study doesn`t take into account fresh air, sunlight, scenery, comradarie and of course aggravation!
I’ll have to check the full study out, but I wonder if it mentions that it’s fairly easy to master Wii Golf while sitting right on the couch and never really moving much at all. Probably not. On the other hand, Wii Fit is a GREAT little program for actually doing some real exercises, particularly core training (which is great for your golf game!).