I have signed up (as of today … see my traineo profile), and so far it looks rather interesting. In simple terms, the idea is to track your calorie burning and weight loss, and work within the community and with your “motivators” until you reach your own goals.

You can log your exercise daily (and your calorie intake, if you like), with a decent list of exercise options. Calorie burning is calculated based on the type of exercise and how difficult you found it. You’re also given the option to have a “custom” log, which you can use to track anything from sleep to time spent watching TV.

If it works, it could be excellent. The only real problem I can see is with remembering and finding the time to actually update it. I’ll let you know how it goes.

That said, things are changing. The massively successful (and still, 5 months after launch, not easy to get hold of, at least in the UK) Nintendo Wii has somehow managed to get pasty, overweight gamers out of their chairs and moving around. I can tell you from personal experience - it really is quite a revelation the first time you play, when you suddenly realise that that strange sensation is in fact caused by blood going all the way around your body!

So is the Wii something to seriously consider when it comes to improving your fitness. Is a few minutes of playing computer games a few times a week really going to help you shift that mountain of flab that hundreds of pints of beer has strapped to the front of you? Well, yes, in a nutshell.

Medical professionals recommend … well actually they don’t really seem to agree, but the general rule of thumb appears to be that you should exercise somewhere between 3 times a week and every day, for around half an hour, and the exercise should be energetic enough to get your heart pumping and maybe break a sweat. Doesn’t sound like much, I know, but the trick is motivation.

And that is where the Wii really does win. Motivation - or lack of - to exercise is one of the biggest reasons people don’t bother to do it. It’s understandable - why would you want to go for a run when you have an Xbox 360, Gears of War and a few hours in which to destroy Locust scum?

The Wii, of course, provides great motivation for exercising - it’s just part of the gaming experience, though of course some games are more energetic than others. With the Wii you can exercise indoors (no excuse that you can’t do any exercise because the weather’s too poor), cheaply (once you’ve bought it, you don’t need to pay every time you want to use it), and at your own pace and at whatever time suits you best.

It’s not boring either - one of the oft-quoted problems with jogging is that it can be very dull by yourself, especially going several times a week. The Wii has no shortage of games for you to play, and most involve a degree of exertion.

If any more convincing is needed, check out the Wii Sports Experiment and J.R.’s WiiWeightLossPlan.com (he’s lost 21 pounds so far of 80). There are even companies riding the Wii wave (heh), like WestCoast Fitness, where personal trainer Zander Urquhart offers Wii fitness classes.

Finally, you may be wondering which games are likely to actually have a positive effect on your fitness, as not all will. Sonic, for example, only involves tipping the controller - no real movement (and it’s rubbish). I would highly recommend Wii Sports (boxing and tennis especially), WarioWare (variable but can be quite good) and Rayman. For maximum effect, try playing against yourself!