The Best Video Games to Burn Off That Holiday Weight Gain

​It happens just about every holiday season.

You go to Christmas parties with friends, family and co-workers, and you overindulge in all sorts of festive food. Which is fine because we all do it. When the holiday season is finally over, however, the bathroom scale tells you you've gained a ton of weight. Again.

So how do you undo all of this damage in a fun and interesting way that doesn't involve staring at sweaty people in the gym? Along with a proper diet, playing certain active video games can burn a serious amount of kilocalories (improperly called "calories" by most). The following is a list of the average amount of kilocalories burned for a select number of video games, according to various sources. Note that the amount of kilocalories burned differs from person to person, so this is simply an estimation based on my measurements (I'm 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds).


​EA Sports Active 2 [XBOX 360, PS3, Wii]
210-270 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Dance Dance Revolution [various systems]
201 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Wii Boxing (Wii Sports) [Wii]
200 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Just Dance 2 [Wii]
190 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Dance Central [XBOX360 Kinect]
171.4 kilocalories/30 minutes

Santa Barbara Arts TV

​Light Walk While Playing a Handheld Game
158 kilocalories/30 minutes


​Wii Tennis (Wii Sports) [Wii]
148 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Wii Fit (advanced or high intensity) [Wii]
130 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Wii Baseball (Wii Sports) [Wii]
130 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​Wii Bowling (Wii Sports) [Wii]
110 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)


​EyeToy Groove [PS2]
84-108 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)

existentialgamer.com

​Average Sedentary Video Game
41 kilocalories/30 minutes (source)