Study: Dusting burns more calories than Wii Fit

To compare the game with housework, fitness instructors asked volunteers to complete 10 minutes of housework and then 10 minutes working out using the games console.

They found that traditional household chores like washing up and hoovering were far more gruelling than playing games on the Wii Fit.

A volunteer using the Wii Fit burned just 25 calories in 10 minutes compared to the 34 calories used while cleaning the bathroom and the 42 calories vacuuming.