VS SITTING
Clearly more energy
A 2007 BMJ study of 11 teenagers found motion-controlled bowling, tennis and boxing all used significantly more energy than a seated game.
See the numbersMotion games get you off the sofa. How far they go is another question.
Studies measuring young players found active video games use clearly more energy than sitting games, and short bouts can reach moderate intensity. A 2007 study still found they fell short of the real sport.
- More than sitting
- Less than the real sport
- Short bouts, not long-term change
- Effort, measured fairly
THE SHORT ANSWER
Better than sitting,
short of the court.
Researchers measure effort in METs,
where 1 MET is about sitting quietly.
VS THE COURT
Not the real sport
The same study concluded active games used not as much energy as playing the sport itself. The Compendium lists singles tennis at 8.0 METs.
Compare the effort
OVER TIME
Short bursts, small change
A 2024 review found short bouts reached 3 to 6 METs, but programmes of six weeks or more showed no significant effect on activity levels.
Read the review
READING A STUDY LIKE THIS
Four things
worth checking.
Headlines about games and exercise often squeeze a lot into one line. These are the questions the studies themselves raise.
Compared with what?
The BMJ study compared active games with a seated game, not with the sport. Both comparisons appear in its conclusions.
How many players?
That study measured 11 teenagers in a laboratory, playing each game for 15 minutes.
Short bout or long run?
The 2024 review found short bouts reached moderate intensity, but programmes of six weeks or more showed no significant effect.
Which measure?
METs compare effort with sitting quietly. Studies differ in methods, which the review says limits comparing results.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
The screen helps,
the court helps more.
One figure for game play,
one for the real thing.
3–6 METs
Typical effort in short bouts of play
A systematic review of 23 studies in young people found short-term active video games reached moderate intensity, mostly with sports and dance games. Longer programmes showed no significant change.
ACTIVE GAMES · SPORTS (2024)
8.0 METs
Singles tennis on court
The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities lists singles tennis at 8.0 METs, doubles at 4.5 to 6.0 and general moderate-effort tennis at 6.8.
REAL TENNIS · COMPENDIUM
In the 2007 BMJ study, predicted energy use was 202.5 kJ/kg/min for motion-controlled tennis against 125.5 for a seated game, measured in six boys and five girls aged 13 to 15 who played each game for 15 minutes.
AN EFFORT CHECK
How hard is
each kind of tennis?
Pick an activity to see its typical effort in METs, the standard unit researchers use. The bar shows how intense it is compared with the others.
Values for real tennis come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. The active video game range comes from a 2024 systematic review of studies in young people. This is general information, not personal health advice.
WHERE THE GUIDELINES COME IN
Moderate means
talk, but not sing.
The NHS says moderate activity raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster and feel warmer; one test is that you can still talk but not sing. It asks children and young people aged 5 to 18 to average at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity a day.
For adults aged 19 to 64, the NHS guideline is at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, plus strengthening on 2 days. The 2007 study authors judged the games they tested not intense enough to count towards children's daily recommendation.
In conversation
Questions people ask
Do motion-controlled games count as exercise?
They use more energy than sitting games. A 2024 review found short bouts reached moderate intensity, 3 to 6 METs, but a 2007 BMJ study found the games it tested used less energy than the real sport.
What is a MET?
A metabolic equivalent. The Compendium of Physical Activities defines 1 MET as roughly the energy cost of sitting quietly, so an activity at 6 METs uses about six times that resting rate.
How energetic is real tennis?
The 2024 Adult Compendium lists singles tennis at 8.0 METs, doubles at 4.5 to 6.0, general moderate-effort tennis at 6.8 and hitting balls outside a match at 5.0.
Did playing active games for weeks change activity levels?
The 2024 systematic review found that in programmes lasting at least six weeks there were no significant effects on young people's energy expenditure or activity profiles between the start and follow-up.
How much activity do the NHS guidelines suggest?
For ages 5 to 18, an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity a day. For adults 19 to 64, at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week, plus strengthening on 2 days.
Sources
Each figure on this page comes from the sources below.
- Graves et al. (2007), BMJ: Comparison of energy expenditure in adolescents when playing new generation and sedentary computer games
- Sports (2024): Estimated energy expenditure in youth while playing active video games, a systematic review
- 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities: Sports (MET values)
- Compendium of Physical Activities: About and MET definition
- NHS: Physical activity guidelines for children and young people
- NHS: Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64