Wii Fit to pre-teen: You're fat

Wed May 21, 2008 11:21AM EDT

See Comments (20)

In a world of glossy magazines showing us rail thin models who subsist on a diet of lettuce and vodka, do we really need video games telling impressionable young children that they're fat?

Nintendo is being lambasted over its hot new Wii Fit "balance board," which has labeled a 10-year-old-girl as "fat" according to its expert analysis. The UK girl, reportedly 4 feet, 9 inches tall, weighs six stone, or about 84 pounds, according to her stepfather. If those figures are true, that would give her a Body Mass Index of a mere 18.2, which actually falls into the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's "underweight" category (though I suspect the real figures are a little different). The worry isn't that she's unhealthy but rather that the device has given her an incorrect and damaging opinion of her health and self-image, one that her parents will now have to work double-time to correct.

At least one group, the UK's National Obesity Forum, is calling for the game to be banned from being marketed to children, saying that BMI "should simply not be used" for growing kids whose bodies are rapidly changing from day to day.

Nintendo has apologized, mainly for using the term "fat" in the game, but says it stands by the BMI measurement, saying only that it "may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups." The company says it will not add a warning of any kind to the device, however. Presumably, it's not going to come up with another word for "fat," either.

POLL: What should Nintendo do? 

Comments on Wii Fit to pre-teen: You're fat

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  • 6 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Unfortunately some kids have already been traumatized by this game and believed that they were overweight and started starving themselves and other things. It needs to be banned. It doesnt work right.

  • 7 Posted by apokid@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    People today give into peer pressure WAY too easily. I feel there should always be a warning when it comes to BMI that muscle mass and age can mess up whether the machine says your fat or not. But seriously, I think the problem here is the people, not the machine.

  • 8 Posted by gooddayz39 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    If i am fat will I still be able to goto the moon??

  • 9 Posted by kendall_chong on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gee if I was traumatized by every email saying that I am "small" I don't think I would ever be able to talk to women. It also sounds like the parents don't want to admit that maybe (just maybe) they are the ones with the problem?

  • 10 Posted by superdorkwad on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    First of all this Artical is complete Rubbish. The game uses the terms Overweight and Obease. NOT FAT. THEY NEVER CALLED ANYONE "FAT"!!!! These are the BMI standard terms. Author of article is a tard.

  • 11 Posted by sciencetroll@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    people are way too oversensitive these days. also people would probably know they are fat already so this shouldnt be a surprise

  • 12 Posted by sciencetroll@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    people are way too oversensitive these days. also people would probably know they are fat already so this shouldnt be a surprise

  • 13 Posted by norreggy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    "Unfortunately some kids have already been traumatized by this game and believed that they were overweight and started starving themselves and other things. It needs to be banned. It doesnt work right." Excuse me? It's parents' responsibility to READ instructions and warnings BEFORE letting their kids play games. Especially since the Wii Fit IS also a home exercise equipment and not just a game. Traumatized my foot.Blablablablabla. The crybabies. School bullies prolly did more to lower self esteem than some glorified bathroom scale plugged to a TV could; but that's beside the point. That dad simply wasn't doing his parenting properly.

  • 14 Posted by ejhjrsum07 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    So when a magazine full of half starved models indirectly calls someone fat it is ok. But when something based on science with the intent on getting the person to a healthier status says it, its wrong...what did I miss? I feel like the game is taking punishment for damage done by magazines and toothpick models.

  • 15 Posted by jd_1876 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    At age 10, I was about 76 pounds. The doctors said I was underweight, and that is only 8 pounds less than this girl. Error in programming... The magazines are the ones that should be banned.

  • 16 Posted by jbrooks101 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have been using the Wii Fit for a few days now and have not seen the word "fat" anywhere. When it measures your BMI (Body Mass Index) the words "Overweight" and "Obese" are used. My 13 year old daughter was called overweight by Wii Fit and she just laughed and proceeded to hoola hoop for a half hour. People need to quite being so sensitive.

  • 17 Posted by ljt09863 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    eh it tells me I'm fat too being at 5'7 and 200 lbs it'd be almost correct if I wasn't already physically active. And able to bench over 300. So in a sense yeah It'd be correct. So yeah I like it. Let kids get healthy. If it was me I'd have probably made the stats more unforgiving.

  • 18 Posted by iloveacc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    For corn's sakes, guys. It's a video game. It's going to have glitches. Also, it didn't call her fat. It either called her "overweight" or "obese". Nowhere in the game have I seen ANYONE be called fat. So people need to get over it. And, if your afriad of being called fat, why don't you just step off of the scale and throw up your food? .

  • 19 Posted by sherrylovie@rogers.com on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    Give it up! People, this is a GAME! Guess what? It says I'm obese. I think that's a little harsh, but I also know, IT'S A GAME! To be honest, if it gets people, adults and kids alike, up and moving than more power to it. If people would stop for a minute and pay attention, there are a lot of kids these days that need to get up and move. My kids use it and have a blast. I, personally have never heard it use the word fat, but then again I'm obese aren't I.LOL

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