Video games have always been directly associated with sitting on your couch, slumped into a day old spot on your favorite cushion and idly pushing buttons on a blocky controller. But Nintendo has changed the face of gaming by introducing their stand up and swing format with the Wii and its famous Wii Remote.

But can the Nintendo Wii really keep you in shape? There are a few games that make it seem so. And for anyone who’s seen any of the Wii’s hyperactive commercials, you know that some would jump across the room, swinging their remotes wildly when playing Wii Tennis or Boxing.

Some researchers and quick witted marketers have started citing the battle against childhood obesity and the fact that the Wii has its gamers up and moving rather than sitting on the couch as a way to keep the laziest of afterschool gamers in shape. And it seems to be working.

The Wii Sports compilation is probably still the best example of how gamers can get a little workout with their gaming. The motion for Wii Bowling or Wii Boxing almost directly requires that gamers stand up and move their entire body to properly play, and in doing so there’s the real possibility of doing some exercise. Some people have even complained of “Wii elbow”, a hybrid of sorts between Tennis and Wii exercise.

The effects are amazing though, especially in a time when games are becoming bigger, more intense, and increasingly involving, while failing to engage any kind of interaction outside of two very rapidly calloused thumbs. If you’re sitting inside in a snow storm, or are allergic to the pollen that populates nearly every corner of he world come spring time, a Nintendo Wii can actually keep you from packing on too many extra pounds while gaming all day.

Wii Sports is the obvious choice for basic gaming exercise, but what if you’ve finally burned out on Nintendo’s tech demo and the very limited swing and jab of Tennis and Boxing? There are plenty of games that you might not even suspect of giving you a workout. Zelda involves a lot of swinging and slashing every time you run across an enemy, and any good golf game (of which there are more and more) requires a full windup and swing for every shot, itself a mildly stimulating activity.

Nearly every game for the Wii requires the movement and windup of a good workout, and as some have found, it can actually turn into losing weight and staying fit while playing your favorite video game. I personally cannot wait for the release of a Virtua Tennis, Wii Tennis on steroids.

And the best part of all is that if you really don’t feel like working out at the moment, it’s entirely possible to slouch back into that couch and flick your wrist idly for a while. But, you’ll quickly find that playing your Wii without the enthusiasm and physically involved motion with which it was intended is not nearly so fun as it should be.