Yes—games that require meaningful movement can increase physical activity while you play, and research finds benefits for some fitness measures. But results vary, and lasting effects are uncertain. Active games can be an enjoyable way to add movement, not a guaranteed replacement for a broader activity routine.
Which video games are relevant to fitness?
The evidence concerns active video games, also called exergames: games in which substantial physical movement controls the action or helps you progress. That includes motion-controlled console games, dance and sports games, physically active virtual-reality games, and augmented-reality mobile games. Ordinary games played while sitting still are a different exposure and are not covered by these findings. Vera-Ponce and colleagues’ 2025 umbrella review describes the evidence across active-game research.
A game’s label is not enough to determine whether it counts as exercise. What matters is what the player actually does: the amount of movement, its intensity, and how regularly it happens.
Can video games count as exercise?
They can contribute to physical activity when gameplay produces enough movement and exertion. A 2025 umbrella review reported typical active-game intensity in the light-to-moderate range: 3–6 METs — Vera-Ponce and colleagues, 2025. This is a category-level estimate, not a measurement of every game or player; a short or low-effort session may involve less activity.
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The World Health Organization recommends adults accumulate 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination — World Health Organization, 2020. Those are weekly targets for activity overall, not a claim that any particular game or session meets them. Game time contributes to the target only to the extent that the player reaches the relevant intensity for long enough. WHO recommendations on physical activity
What does the research show?
Reviews generally find that active-game programmes can raise activity, though the size of the benefit differs across studies, participants, games, and measures.
Physical activity across longer interventions
A 2023 systematic review included 25 studies and pooled 19 with sufficient data. It found a moderate average effect on physical activity: Hedges g = 0.525 — Moller and colleagues, 2023. Results varied substantially between studies (I² = 87.7%), so the average should not be read as a prediction for an individual player or a specific product. Moller and colleagues’ 2023 review
Randomized-trial findings
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis included 20 randomized controlled trials involving 2,211 participants. Its pooled estimates favored exergame interventions for physical activity (SMD 0.19, 95% CI 0.05–0.33), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (SMD 0.48, 95% CI 0.12–0.85), and step counts (SMD 0.54, 95% CI 0.13–0.94). Participants had varied medical conditions, so these estimates are not a forecast for every healthy consumer. Li and colleagues noted: “Future trials are needed to further validate the insights proposed in our studies and assess the long-term effects on PA.” Li and colleagues’ 2025 review in the Journal of Medical Internet Research
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Findings for older adults and children
In the 2025 umbrella review, benefits were most consistent for older adults: reported effect sizes were 0.64–0.68 for strength and 0.79 for cardiorespiratory fitness, with the review assigning high certainty to these findings. This is evidence about outcomes in studied older-adult populations, not a guarantee for every person or game. Vera-Ponce and colleagues, 2025
For healthy children aged 3–12, a 2020 systematic review covered 10 studies. Four of five studies assessing physical fitness found significant improvements in measures such as balance, agility, or speed. Evidence for object-control and locomotor skills was inconclusive, so findings for one type of skill should not be generalized to all motor development. Gao and colleagues, 2020
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Do fitness games help you lose weight?
The evidence summarized here does not establish that a particular game reliably causes weight loss. Active gaming can add movement, but weight change depends on more than whether a game is active. These reviews do not justify promising weight loss, durable fitness gains, or disease prevention to an individual player based on game use alone.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do the benefits last, and is active gaming safe?
Long-term persistence is uncertain. In the 2025 umbrella review, 23% of interventions — Vera-Ponce and colleagues, 2025 showed sustained effects after the intervention ended. The review also found that only 30% of reviews — Vera-Ponce and colleagues, 2025 systematically reported adverse events. That is incomplete safety reporting, not an injury-rate estimate or proof that active gaming is risk-free.
The evidence base combines different populations, devices, programme lengths, outcome measures, and comparison groups. The umbrella review also notes that evidence comes primarily from high-income settings and that methods are not standardized. Choose movement and intensity appropriate to your abilities and circumstances; a game’s activity demands and the space and equipment it requires can affect whether it is suitable for you.
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How to choose an active game to try
Rather than relying on a fitness label or brand reputation, consider what a session asks you to do and whether you can keep doing it comfortably and consistently.
- Movement: Does play require repeated whole-body movement, or can you progress with small gestures?
- Effort: Does the session actually raise your exertion? The category-level intensity estimate does not tell you how hard a particular game will feel.
- Practical fit: Check required equipment, available play space, accessibility, and whether the movements suit your abilities.
- Consistency: Consider whether the game or programme gives you a reason to return; short-term activity does not establish lasting use.
Nintendo Wii Fit is one identifiable example named in the 2025 randomized-trial review, but it is not a general endorsement: that review reports that a 2019 trial among children with cancer found no significant physical-activity benefit. A single trial in that population does not determine the effect of every active game or its use by other groups. Li and colleagues’ review and its discussion of the Wii Fit trial
For children, the World Health Organization’s 2025 report on the GenMove programme describes the use of active video games to get children moving. It is a programme report, not proof that every game improves every fitness outcome. WHO, “Getting children moving using active video games”
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