From Fat to Wii Fit?

The Nintendo Wii which has gotten a lot of good press for getting people up and moving playing games such as tennis, boxing or bowling. This extends to children, adults and even seniors as many old folks homes engage in what is being dubbed "wiihabilitation."



The wii fit uses BMI(Body Mass Index) to label you as underweight, ideal, overweight, and obese. I've discussed in a previous article my disdain for the BMI as it is far from a perfect measure of fitness.

Will Your Mii be a Fatty?

So will the Wii Fit be the fitness revolution we've been looking for? I'd say it's a step in the right direction, but this isn't going to cure the obesity epidemic. Anything that gets people moving is good in my book, but I hope people don't purchase the Wii Fit thinking it will be the end all to their weight issues. Nintendo doesn't seem to be promising much with regard to that, but the "fit" seems to imply at least something. The media has gotten a hold of it saying things like the Wii Fit will "make a stronger, leaner and generally healthier gamer." Those seem like lofty promises. With all that aside I can't wait to try it out for myself.

I hope the Wii Fit is just a stepping stone to video games being merged with fitness equipment. Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) started the trend, but that was years ago, so hopefully this will spark other video game companies to follow suit.

For $89.99 the Wii Fit balance board and game disk can be yours, if you can find one. They seem to be sold out already and the price is already climbing.