I am a wee bit afraid of the impact of Wii — the very popular video gaming system that just came out with a Fitness version — highly publicized, well received, a breakthrough product.

Suddenly, kids who didn't know one end of a basketball from another are wildly enthusiastic about jumping jacks. The popularity of Wii devices — and other active games, such as Dance Dance Revolution or Jellyfish Jam — is going up and up, in schools, at homes. Why not in offices? Airplanes?

And yes! I want to say: All exercise is good exercise, and if Wii tennis, Wii golf, or Wii yoga gets you animated and active instead of stationary and stiff-limbed, then OK! This must be progress. Bring it on.

But another voice leaps to mind. Don't go there. Don't hook into yet another faux activity when you can go out where the sun shines, birds fly, nature lives and play a real game of tennis, or a real game of golf, or — best of all — take a real yoga class.

There is a difference. I didn't know for sure until I experimented for myself with Wii-loving family and friends, playing many rounds of Wii golf, tennis and baseball, and a few hysterical hours of air guitar. It was fun. I had a good time, and I'm glad I did it.

But does it do for you what real life sports can do? It's a fair question. Does it build muscle and boost endurance? Fat chance. Does it require discipline and technique? Not really. Does it teach you about teamwork and sportsmanship? Maybe a little, but basically, who are we kidding? Wii is the dumbing down of sports and fitness, just as holding the Olympics in China is the dumbing down of freedom.

Wii golf — where mindless thrashing about is rewarded and you never lose the ball — is an experience, but it is not the experience of golf. There is no precision swing required, no need to develop a delicate touch. You can't smell the trees or talk to the ducks. The public humiliation is certainly less.

Wii golf may move your body, but I don't believe it moves your soul the way playing real golf does. Ditto for tennis. Where's the thrill of the perfect toss, followed by a spiraling spitfire ace? Wii tennis is played with a little hand wand, not a racket. Minimal skill. It's as similar to hitting a real forehand and backhand as needlepoint is to polo.

As for Wii yoga, well, don't get me started. One reason there are so many yoga injuries — painful knees, crunched sacrums, torn rotator cuffs — is because there aren't enough excellent teachers to go around, personally correcting your form, helping you with alignment. Wii yoga may indeed be a force for good, bringing more people into the tent — breathing, stretching, strengthening — but is it a substitute for a real yoga class with a really smart yoga teacher? Is a rock a substitute for a potato?

And yet, we all know that obesity is a huge problem. Some of these new video games burn more calories than walking on a treadmill, according to early reports. The sedentary lifestyle is as widespread as a bus driver's behind. Adults and kids enjoy playing Wii games. It gets them out of their chairs, moving, instead of in their cars, chewing. Wii sports and fitness challenges are better than none at all, right?

But better than none is setting the bar as low as it goes.

More and more, as technology connects you to the digital world of your choosing, and venturing out to discover the real world is replaced by slavish devotion to small screen entertainment, you will have to make a choice: Do you spend hours in front of a screen, pretending to do or be or go, or do you spend your time in personal contact with others, playing a real sport, open to the real-life lessons it can teach you?

And what does that choice tell your kids?

I hope you exercise good judgment.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN ACTION AND CONSEQUENCES

"Look at this! I'm a great golfer!" — Dylan, a 7-year-old, swinging wildly, watching a digital ball fly toward an imaginary target.

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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