It's not the first we've heard of the Wii being used for rehabilitation context, but it would appear "Wiihab" is becoming increasingly frequent. According to the AP, hospitals in states like Missouri, Illinois, and North Carolina, and even Walter Reed Army Medical Center are all incorporating the Wii into physical therapy routines. Just in time, too, it would be really weird if Wiiitis or a nasty Wiinjury landed you in the hospital in the first place, your doctor used a Wii to hone his steady hand, and you didn't actually get to use a Wii to get your ass well enough to be discharged. Ah, what a world.

Although we've seen some interesting uses of the Wii for rehab and exercise -- and even seen some positive results -- a new study says that so-called "active" gaming is really no more active than simply sitting around. The research -- funded by Nintendo's UK marketing division, ironically enough -- compared the calories burned by five gamers playing Wii Sports Boxing, Tennis, and Bowling to the calories burned by the same group simply sitting around playing Project Gotham 3 on the 360. Although Wii Sports definitely burned more calories, it wasn't very significant: an increase of "less than two percent," according to the report. Of course, that doesn't mean that other active games like DDR or even a vigorous Rock Band drumming sesh won't burn more calories -- so don't give up your gaming-fitness dreams just yet.

[Via Ars Technica; Image courtesy of Nick Cueva]