It was meant to get the nation back in shape in the comfort of our own homes – but women working out on the Nintendo Wii Fit video game have helped cause around £20 million of damage to their own living rooms.

Vases, television sets and even pets have been sent flying by the high kicks and hula hoop motions of increasingly vigorous home exercise routines, a study has found.

And with the credit crunch forcing households to tighten their belt on luxuries such as exclusive gym memberships, this wake of destruction on Britain’s living rooms is only expected to rise.

Nearly a fifth of women interviewed admitted having accidents after getting carried away in the living room – bumping into furniture, banging their head or pulling a muscle, the research carried out for women-only insurer Sheila’s Wheels found.