With child obesity at an all time high it is essential to find ways to keep your kids active. We stress the importance of exercise and fitness but with physical education classes being removed from schools it presents another hurdle in the battle to keep exercising.

We have moved into an age where technology is so advanced that video games and computers can dominate a lot of your children's days. Long gone are the days of one simple video game system such as Atari or Nintendo. There are now countless variations of video game entertainment systems and some video game companies are taking advantage of the need for exercise options and offering activity based video games.

One of the hottest new trends in the fitness industry is activity based video games or interactive "Exergames". The most popular version of this is the Wii entertainment system.

The Nintendo Wii is a gaming console that costs around $200. The Wii has a few elements that make it different from your average video game controller based console.  The console comes with joysticks that can be used to simulate interactive sports tools such as a tennis racket or a golf club. The system comes with the popular game Wii Sports that lets you act out the sports tennis, golf, bowling and more as you move your body while playing.

There are also accessories that are sold separately such as Wii Fit that includes a fitness program game and balance board that many kids find fun and challenging.

The Wii is not only for kids as many adults also find the games enjoyable and recreational.

They also sell dance pads that you can use to dance and exercise interactively to current or classic music. You can dance by yourself or challenge a friend to a "dance off" where points are achieved for your ability to follow the steps.

These different exercise game options can run anywhere from $40 to $200 dollars in addition to the console.

Many fitness facilities have actually started installing the Wii as part of regular programming in an effort to attract youth and adults to a different fitness option.

The West Suburban YMCAin Newton, MA actually has the Wii hooked up to a large projector screen that allows members to participate in a number of different sports and dance options.

Many competitors are now seeing the popularity of the Wii and are trying to get in on the action. Playstation has "the Move"  and Microsoft has "the Kinect". Both are an attempt to get into this huge market for interactive video games.

With Christmas around the corner it is good to look at some of these options as potential fitness and entertainment options for kids and adults alike. You can find the Wii and others at your local WalMart in Tewksbury or electronics and video game retailer.