Wii Fit: Good for Kids and Adults or Plain Wrong?

I believe that any exercise can have the potential of being “good and healthy.” This week, I have had to reflect on previous comments I made about exercise and video games. Here is my original quote I made for the International Sports Science Association: http://www.issaonline.com/press-room/04-26-07.cfm.

This week on Yahoo!, I found this clip that talks about Wii Fit. View it here: http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/playback/playback-32/1288499.

I have a few clients who have this product and I have to admit, I was impressed with the possibilities it has to offer. However, when further examining Wii Fit, I realized the execution of exercise programming was rather limited and it also uses BMI to measure success. BMI stands for Body Mass Index. I have a big problem with using BMI as a measure of success. To take me as an example, my smallest body fat percentages would put me at a very obese category. Make sure to take a look at the video link above because I want you to see the actual size of the little girl who Wii Fit calls “obese.” Notice that she claims it makes her feel “sad.” Is this the message we want to give to our youth? The more important question is, “Why are we using BMI since it is a faulty way to measure people?” Stop worrying about BMI and start worrying about body fat, performance and health! People come to me in tears because their BMI says they are obese, when in reality, they are not!

I hope Nintendo learns that their good intention was some major flaws quick!

Be Better,

Dexter