The Nintendo Wii Fit was released to the public recently
with much ballyhoo. If you haven't seen the Nintendo Wii
game system, it is the latest evolution in video game
playing where players use the remote to mimic real-life
actions such as a tennis forehand. The players' physical
actions are then played out on the screen.
The Wii Fit is a "game" that according to the Nintendo
website can increase your fitness levels. "By playing Wii
Fit a little every day, you, your friends, and your family
can work towards personal goals of better health and
fitness," the site claims. While I have yet to use the
game at all, I can say that I am highly skeptical that this
will make a dent into America's growing obesity problem.
The Wii Fit comes with a balance board that the player uses
to interact with the game. When you first start the game,
the Wii Fit assesses your balance - which is important in
your overall health, but is usually not a concern to anyone
who is not a senior citizen or recovering from injury.
It then moves on to perform the Body Test, which is more
balance assessment, followed by the calculation of Body
Mass Index (or BMI). BMI is a very flawed measure of one's
fitness, as it measures the ratio of one's scale weight to
one's height. So, on the BMI scale, the following people
are considered Overweight or Obese:
- Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees
- Tom Brady of the New England Patriots
- Lance Armstrong of cycling fame
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Sylvester Stallone
See where I'm going with this? Scale weight does not
account for the amount of lean body mass someone is
carrying. That is why body fat percentage is the gold
standard for measuring one's fitness.
Also, measuring BMI on anyone under 19 is very inaccurate.
This already has become an issue for Nintendo, as a 10-year
old athletic British girl was assessed as being Fat by the
game. Obesity experts jumped on Nintendo immediately,
rightfully stating that the game could cause irreparable
harm to a child's body image. Nintendo has since added a
disclaimer that the BMI feature is meant for adults only,
but hasn't taken the step of deactivating it in the game
for child users.
The game goes on to calculate a Wii Fit Age for the user
based on your balance test results, actual age, etc.
Again, this is a very shaky measure of one's fitness that
could mislead people.
The Training section of the game is broken down into four
sections: Yoga, Balance Games, Strength Training and
Aerobics, all of which can be done without spending the
$89.95 suggested retail price for Wii Fit.
Let's break down the Strength Training section as an
example of some of the flaws in this game. The first
exercise is a Single Leg Extension, which is more of an
exercise in balance than a strength training exercise.
Also, leg extensions do not mimic a real life use of the
leg, and the leg extension machine is perhaps one of the
worst machines in the gym.
The next exercise is torso twists, which is more of a
dynamic stretch than a strength building exercise,
especially in the absence of any weighted bar or dumbbells.
That is followed by the push-up and side plank. Now, I'm
a big fan of both of these exercises, but they are not for
the de-conditioned. Most men are not capable of doing
pushups with correct form, and women usually start out with
the modified push-up until they have the strength to do
regular form.
The next exercise, jack-knifes, is for people who are
advanced in their training. It violates one of the basic
principles of fitness professionals around the world -
never put a de-conditioned person on their back on the
floor for anything. Lastly, the game makes the user
perform lunges, which are great muscle builders. However,
like stated before, you don't need to buy a game system to
do them.
Overall, I give Nintendo credit for trying to make a game
that tries to get people to be more active, which is more
than can be said for other video game manufacturers.
However, this will not do anything in terms of chipping
away at the American obesity problem. In fact, I'll go out
on a limb and say that the video game industry needs to
follow the route of the tobacco and alcohol manufacturers,
and state that excessive use of their product could lead to
inactivity and obesity, rather than try to make a
half-hearted effort at increasing American activity levels.
Rather than letting your kids play Wii Fit while you watch
TV in the other room, here are some things that you can do
together:
- Go for a brisk walk
- Group session with a personal trainer
- Navigate a confidence course
- Play catch with a football or baseball
- Kick a soccer ball around
- One-one-one basketball
- Walk and play a par 3 golf course
- Family yard work or snow shoveling!
You'll save money on electricity and form stronger bonds
with your kids as you increase your fitness levels together.
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Matt Lisk is a fat loss expert who has used his knowledge
to lose over 80 pounds of body fat, reduce his body fat
percentage to under 10% and to resolve a variety of health
issues he was experiencing. He is the author of Lean State
University's Fat Loss 101 Newsletter at http://leanstate.com
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