Sizing Up The Wii Fit

Staying active is essential for keeping control of your weight and maintaining joint strength and flexibility. But when it’s cold outside and all you want to do is enjoy the comfort of your living room and hang out with a video game, exercise can seem like a drag.

Enter the Nintendo Wii Fit, an ingenious variation of the popular Wii games console that’s designed to get couch potatoes moving and grooving into shape through a virtual “personal trainer” and a range of exercise-based gaming activities. Costing around $99 in the U.S. (check wii.com for pricing in your region), the Wii Fit is an add-on to the Wii console (bought separately), and consists of the game itself plus a so-called “balance board” - a device resembling oversized bathroom scales that uses internal pressure sensors to measure your weight, along with how you are standing and moving.

Originally released in Japan in December 2007, the Wii Fit features 40 different activities split into four categories—Yoga, Aerobics, Strength training and Balance games. They were joined by a further 20 or so games when the Wii Fit Plus was released in 2009.

The Wii Fit was an instant success, with stores selling out almost as soon as the product went on sale, and it's easy to see why. It's easy to use, the routines slot into busy schedules and you don't have to invest in expensive, heavy gym equipment to make a start on keeping fit.

And it seems to be effective, too. Research from John Moores University, in Liverpool, UK, compared Wii Sports users with those who played more sedentary games, and found that, potentially, they could burn an extra 1830 calories per week. The International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) is also supportive of gaming, saying that it “may prove to be just what fitness experts are looking for to help their clients get more active”.

Of course, nothing beats actual, physical activity, and The American Council on Exercise has pointed out that the energy expended from Wii Fit exercises falls below physical activity guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine. Still, every little helps, and with the western world battling a growing obesity crisis, it's no surprise that weight loss is the most commonly mentioned health benefit of the Wii Fit.

It's not the only benefit, however, and the sassy video game's potentially therapeutic uses have caught the imagination of scientists in various fields. Multiple medical uses have been tried with positive results, including stroke rehabilitation, dementia and partial paralysis/cerebral palsy, as well as for patients suffering from leukemia and other blood disorders.

Wiiitis

But, for all its undisputed advantages, the Wii Fit is not without its detractors. The U.S. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System reports that, of the 696 people injured due to video games between 2004 - 2009, 92 cases involved "Wii-style" games.

The New York Times coined the term “Nintendinitis” for a condition that encompasses all conditions resulting from the use (or overuse) of the Wii. The main complaints are strains and swelling due to overuse following a period of long inactivity. The Wii shoulder, dubbed Wiiitis, has now been formally recognized by the scientific community. Rare injuries include abdominal bleeding and air trapped in the lung—i.e. injuries caused by misuse of the controller, sometimes accompanied by the the strap breaking and the remote flying around the room. Nintendo wisely advises: ”… as with any new activity, people playing the Wii system should pace themselves and not overdo it”.

Wii Advice

Safety is especially important if you have hemophilia: the last thing you want is a joint bleed. This means you should read the instruction booklet carefully, start very slowly to get the feel of it, wear good, cushioned trainers, loose clothing and joint supports as necessary. Some versions of the game require appropriate warm-up and preparation before performance (see “Be a Gym Rat” for warm-up tips for your joints, muscles and tendons). It's also worth taking advice from your local Hemophilia Treatment Center or your doctor before using the Wii Fit.

Despite these problems, Wii Fit is clearly here to stay. It appears to show some benefit for a broad range of ages, it's relatively cheap, safe and fun to use. If you could use a little more exercise, why not give it a try?

References/Related Links

1. Nintendo Wii
2. As Good As the Real Thing. University of Wisconsin Study on Wii Sport
3. Fitness Experts Endorse Wii For Health Benefits
4. Eleven Fit Teens Fail Wii Fitness Test
5. Americans sustained 696 "video game-related injuries" over past five years
6. More Wii Warriors are Playing Hurt. New York Times
7. Time on Wii