Wii Fit in academic study

Research conducted by several organisations (Sussex Community NHS Trust, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, Goldsmiths, University of London and Oxford Brookes University) has demonstrated that using the Wii Fit board has a positive impact on "the motor skills, and related social and emotional behaviour" of children who suffer with a condition called Developmental Coordination Disorder.

Two groups of affected children were observed, one used the Wii Fit board for ten minutes, three times a week, whilst the other group carried on with their existing programme.

In the Wii Fit test group, subjects who regularly played balance games experienced improvement in motor proficiency, as well as reported improvements in emotional well-being.

Project Lead Professor Elisabeth Hill (Goldsmiths University) said: "The results provide interesting points warranting further discussion, particularly in view of the fact that many children have access to the Nintendo Wii Fit and may be using this system at home with minimal supervision. This simple, popular intervention represents a plausible method to support children's motor and psychosocial development."

Dr Dido Green (Oxford Brookes) added: "These preliminary results highlight the need for further research to inform across these and other questions regarding the implementation of virtual reality technologies in therapeutic services for children with movement difficulties."