Obesity experts today slammed Nintendo after its Wii Fit game told a 10-year-old girl she was fat.They fear the game could damage children's body image and called on the company to warn parents it is not suitable for their offspring.
The £69 game, which sold out within hours when it went on sale in Britain last month, uses an electronic "balance board" to monitor a player's weight.
Once the player has entered their height, the game uses BMI, a measure of body fat based on an adult's height and weight, to calculate their level of obesity, placing them in categories such as "underweight" and "fat".
Players can then be guided through yoga exercises or play games to improve their balance.
However, a father from the South-East spoke today of the embarrassment when his stepdaughter played the game and was labelled fat.
"She is a perfectly healthy, 4ft 9in tall 10-year-old who swims, dances and weighs only six stone," said the father, who did not want to be named for fear of embarrassing the girl further.
View: Full article @ Daily Mail
And FFS, it is only a game.
For my height/weight, I fit perfectly in the "normal" range, yet I eat lots of seriously unhealthy food, and I no longer exercise like I used to. I am very unfit.
And FFS, it is only a game.
For my height/weight, I fit perfectly in the "normal" range, yet I eat lots of seriously unhealthy food, and I no longer exercise like I used to. I am very unfit.
Haha same here.
I laugh whenever I see BMI stats, cuz I have a BMI of 31.6 but I'm not even fat.
Besides, it's a Daily Mail reader. They'll complain if they find one flake less in their cornflakes. Daily Mail is a hating paper, full of bitter, vile writers, read by bitter, vile people, and full of bitter, vile stories.
It's okay when in a game, especially in a hardcore action-type like Grand Theft Auto or mmorpg, we play over the net and talk plenty of smack, or we have no problem running people over and shooting others in the face. But when the criticism (bloodless, mind you) is leveled squarely at us, we take it personally and get all bent out of shape about it.
Interesting.
6 stone = 84 pounds
Based solely on BMI being 84 pounds at 4'9" and female. That is heavy.
But as most have already said.... BMI is ****.
What are they upset about? Inaccuracy, or wording?
How would a doctor describe this 10-year old girl?
Non-story.
Edit: was not meant as a response to dandy.. neowin system is "not practical".. (the word I used before was not allowed)
i believe it is accepted.
The instruction book cleary says that the BMI doesn't work for anyone under 20, is it Nintendo's fault they can't read.
Her BMI was 18.2 so the machine got it wrong anyway. Children have different proportions and special charts are used to find their healthy weight.
Anyways if you believe that this will truly tell if you are fat or not then you need to get your head examined.
Even though this was a child, you still gotta take it with a grain of salt. Its a game. But girls are so fragile.
Thank God she plays PC games instead.
Seriously though, self-image problems are real and can be damaging for a lifetime sometimes. However, the suggestion that a game could have such an effect is certainly dubious. I don't think machines hurt many people's feelings. Usually it's other people that do that.
They got wii fit for a reason, it called the kid fat based on the BMI calculation made, it doesn't lie. While fitness is an objective thing you can't go crying about it if a game says your overweight.
This is pathetic.
-wii fit will broke when your step over.
-wii fit say "one person at once".
-wii fit start crying when you stood on it.
-you will need a widescreen for fit your mii on screen.
-wii fit will connect with Guiness Record.
-Wii fit warranty will not cover you.
-
-you will need a widescreen for fit your mii on screen.
-.
make that 2 wide screens in dual extended mode..... :-P
I stood on the wi fit and the bmi maxxed out at 9999999999999999999999999999999.999
Hovever, if she was overweight and it told her so then so what?! She needs to stop dodging the salads!
Hovever, if she was overweight and it told her so then so what?! She needs to stop dodging the salads!
Not when the instructions say the BMI calculation is inaccurate for people under 20 there is not a problem.
Only problem is peoples inablity to RTFM
BTW, most parents do not believe their kids are overweight, even when clearly they are. They've done studies on it.
A. Lazy
B. Chronologically challenged (work day keeps you tired)
C. A+B+pornoholic
D. Don't give a rat's *** what people think
E. Genetically predispositioned (which is a total copout. You can always do SOMETHING to lose weight)
If you play video games for hours a day, there's still no excuse. If people get fat and they're addicted to video games, it's NOT VIDEO GAMES. You can get addicted to driving! Do you get fat from driving? I hope not, or I'm doomed! You get fat from eating improperly. By improperly I mean, eating more than necessary, the wrong kind of food, at the wrong times, or all the time, and not balancing your diet. Diet has a lot to do with it, but you also need proper exercise, sleep, environmental relief (sunlight and fresh air) and a regular schedule. Nintendo is NOT an excuse or a reason to get fat or obese or whatever you label it. That's a total copout; and it probably started because parents don't know how to control their children and refuse maintain their household and let the TV, internet, and games run their livelyhood, instead of treating as a recreation.
Nintendo shouldn't be criticized for being one of the millions of people/organizations who use it. The BMI in general should be criticized. Most of these so-called "obesity experts" use it anyway, as it is often their simplest tool.
Stretch when you wake up and walk a city block or two. Doing that will do much better than a video game can do for you, and you'll have more money in your pocket.
I'm not saying what I'm saying because I think it's wrong to be overwight, I'm saying what I'm saying because I'm amazed at how stupid society has become about weight. Everyone wants results with little effort and are willing to throw away money at a moments notice just for that. Lets say your Wii and Fit game costs you $250 and you get paid $15.00 /hr, that's 16hrs of work. Imagine putting 16hrs of work into exercise could could do for that same person.
BMI does not completely suck. It's a general range, there is no perfect number. If you are so tall, you should weigh within a certain range unless you have excess body fat. BMI doesn't take into account how 'tone' you are, but it give you a general range for your fitness. Having more weight in muscle too is going to throw that off that range, but obviously if you aren't guessing how healthy you are if you can see youself in the mirror.
Let's start calling the things by their real name:
1. "Average" body size means "fat".
2. "A few extra pounds" or "big" means "pig".
3. BBW means "monster".
Works for me anyways!
BMI is a ridiculous wahy of measuring anything it shouldb e trashed.
As a side note, show me where the Wii Fit ever once displays or says "fat".
I would hope the parents have raised their kid well enough that she won't rely on a video game to determine her health or appearance... but I doubt they have.
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