The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) wants you to get fit and healthy in the new year and have fun doing it at the same time. How can you do both of those? By getting healthy through video games! Gamers For Heath is a new group formed by the ECA with goal in mind of getting gamers to play workout video games like Nintendo’s Wiifit or EA Sports: Active, to get healthy and in shape.

The Nintendo Wii has proven useful in the past in different areas aside from video games and entertainment. Its motion controllers and friendly interface have made it a surprisingly effective tool for rehabilitation and Wii Fit has managed to push people of all ages off the couch. In another surprising use for Nintendo’s console, sports medicine may be benefited in one its most important areas. The treatment of sports injuries.

If you are playing the EA Sports Active games on your Wii, you may be satisfying the American College of Sports Medicine‘s (ACSM) guidelines for an active lifestyle.

A study released on June 2, 2010, conducted by Dr. John Porcari of the University of Wisconsin concluded that these games passed the fitness guidelines of ACSM.

ACSM recommends…

With the appearance of different control schemes for video games, developers have found new ways to get people involved and engaged with the action on the screen. Music games have been greatly benefited by this and motion sensing controllers like the Wiimote have prompted many people to interact with games in a more physical way.

Maybe one of the most popular games with this approach is Nintendo’s Wii Fit, which has created a way for people to get involved with physical activities like jogging or yoga while getting a positive feedback through the animations and displays on the screen.

It has been a very disappointing month for videogame sales overall. Analysts are reporting game sales have fallen 26% compared to this time last year. The decline is attributed to the timing of Easter in 2010 and a decrease in handheld console sales. When compared to handheld sales in April 2009, handheld sales make up 61% of the overall revenue decline last month.

Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus has been granted endorsement from the United Kingdom’s Department of Health. In a move that has surprised many, now Wii Fit Plus will be allowed to use the logo of the Change4Life campaign in its advertisements and stores – and probably on the product itself – beginning next year (2010).

The Change4Life campaign is a program sponsored by the UK’s government aimed at promoting an active lifestyle and a healthy diet. Now Nintendo will join other major companies including Pepsi and Cadbury providing funds to support the campaign.

Sultry songstress and actress Beyoncé Knowles recently told Billboard that she has ideas for her own fitness game.

When asked what she has on her “to-do list,” Beyoncé said, “I’d like to get involved in videogames since I really love Wii Fit. I think it would be a great idea to incorporate choreography because for me my workout is way more fun…

Forget about steroids or any other performance-enhancing substances. The way to improve your baseball game is by playing the Nintendo Wii.

San Diego Padres pitcher Heath Bell considered himself to be in pretty good shape, after all, he’s a professional athlete. But when he stepped onto the Wii Fit Balance Board, the game informed him his Mii was obese. Bell told the Wall Street Journal he wasn’t in it to lose weight. Instead, he said, “I wanted to make my character smaller.”

The Wii is this generation’s family friendly system. It’s easy to use, has a sufficient game library and offers a unique multiplayer experience. But there’s a dark side lurking in the wings.

Many popular Wii games can also be quite dangerous, if someone doesn’t know how to properly play. Careless players can wind up with headaches, motion sickness,

Today, we’re taking a look at five popular and well known Wii games which, in some way, could be hazardous to your health. Bear in mind that, if one plays properly, that these games are all perfectly safe ways to spend your time. Also, some players may be more susceptible to the possible dangers these games may present than others…

Remember that moldy stereotype that gamers are all overweight, couch-crusty adolescents? Well, we actually have financial proof that it’s not the case anymore (not that it ever was) – in a recent story at 1Up, it was revealed that the new genre of fitness games has created an incredible $2 billion in revenue. The report originally comes from the Games for Health Project, and the figure was generated in just 18 months. Holy guacamole.