After a bunch of researchers jumped on the sheep-train of video game bashing, it appears one group has refined their studies and taken a step back from the exaggerated hyperbole surrounding the negative impact games have on the health of gaming's youth. Instead, this group is now claiming video games are good for a child's health. Nice.

According to the press release, “Videogaming has been implicated as a contributory factor in making children overweight. Since stopping children playing videogames altogether is unlikely – or indeed unwarranted – the research group decided to investigate the health benefits of playing more dynamic and interactive forms of videogames. They also investigated whether the time spent playing can contribute towards daily, moderate to vigorous, physical activity in children.”

Well, duh! So apparently these folks didn’t bother to ponder that active Wii gaming might have positive effects on a child’s somatic build? I tell you, sometimes these researchers make me question how they managed a Ph.D without employing the most common forms of sense?

Anyway, after conducting a few studies on fifteen kids, it appeared that the research showed something common sense confirms: the kids’ energy expenditure was up by 42% and that with an hour’s worth of gameplay a day for a year, the kids would burn 7.5lbs of fat.

Michael Rawlinson, Director General of ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) said: “We are delighted with the conclusions of the study. The early signs are that these highly interactive games may offer a means of helping provide the recommended daily physical activity for children in the secure environs of their own homes.”

There’s a reason it’s called Wii Fit. Apparently these gaming info-duds don’t even know what video games are like these days. It didn’t take research findings to know that you could get in shape with a daily dose of Wii-moting. I guess when blaming video games for a parent’s poor attempt at raising a kid, all things get tossed out the window…like the facts, real life and common sense.

For more gaming insight, news, updates and information, be sure to stay tuned in with Blend Games.