It hurts to laugh, I’m afraid to sneeze, and my legs feel like Jell-O. And while it may sound like I’m recovering from a marathon, I’m actually just recovering from my second day with Wii Fit.

It’s an amazing workout. I actually look forward to getting on the balance board and strengthening my core while practicing yoga poses and to burning some serious calories with the hula hoop. (Which, by the way, is the reason I’m feeling “the burn.”) I must admit that I’m not crazy about the computer telling me I’m obese every time I step on the balance board, but I’m enjoying myself too much to let that stop me from having fun and getting healthy at the same time.

I’ve had the original Wii for a few months now and enjoyed my tennis games and trips to the Olympics even before the Wii Fit entered my home, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that active video games can help kids burn calories and may reduce the risk of obesity.

While the study sample was small (only eighteen 6 to 12 year olds), researchers from the University of Hong Kong compared calories used during seated and active gaming formats. Not surprisingly, they found that the children’s heart rates were significantly higher during active video games, causing them to burn up to five times as many calories per minute compared to those playing seated video games. Researchers acknowledged that even kids playing seated video games burned 39 percent more calories than those at rest, suggesting that changing gaming environments could encourage regular physical activity and help in the fight against childhood obesity.

The move to active participation in video gaming is still a relatively new concept, and a far cry from the mindless, couch-potato video games of my youth. But it makes sense that active video gaming systems like the Wii can help kids get their heart rates up, which is great news for parents looking for a way to get their children off the couch and active.

It’s kind of a no-brainer, really. What better way to get a child excited about exercise than to connect it to an active video gaming system? “Tommy, turn that television off and go ride your bike for an hour,” might not get your child jumping up with anticipation, but “Let’s play a video game,” sure sounds like fun.