Wii Fit Calls Girl Fat

bostinelosd · 07-31-2008, 03:57 PM

Wii Fit tells 10-year-old she's fat
The Daily Mail is condemning video games again--and this time it's Nintendo that bears the brunt of its vocal indignation. Although the Wii and DS have been generally insulated from the usual haranguing of traditional video games in such sections of the British press because of their popularity among the elderly, women, and on cruises, family friendly Wii Fit has managed to incur the wrath of the tabloid.
The reason is that an unnamed 10-year-old girl from South East England was told by the game, during its Body Mass Index test, that she was "fat." (Wii Fit actually puts users into a variety of categories, the two heaviest of which are "overweight" and "obese.")
The stepfather of the girl, who didn't want to be named for her sake, said, "She is a perfectly healthy, 4-feet-9-inch-tall 10-year-old who swims, dances, and weighs only six stone. She is solidly built but not fat. She was devastated to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her she isn't."
The paper then enlisted the opinion of Tam Fry, a spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, who called for a ban on kids playing the game, presumably meaning she wanted to see it brandishing an 18 age gate sticker. She said, "I am absolutely aghast that children are being told they are fat. A child's BMI can change every month and it is perfectly possible for a child to be stocky, yet still very fit. I would be very concerned if children were using this game and I believe it should carry a warning for parents."
However, Nintendo declined to entertain her suggestion, simply saying, "Wii Fit is still capable of measuring the BMI for people aged between two and 20 but the resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development."

bostinelosd · 07-31-2008, 04:00 PM

"and weighs only six stone." What the hell is that. =)

It honestly sounds to me this girl has a hard time separating reality from a video game. BMI puts me at obeise and its far from the truth. But do I take it seriously? Hell no. Nintendo doesnt have to take the shake from this. If anyone does, it should be whoever invented BMI. On a side note, nintendo did say that BMI is not accurate for all body shapes.

Cyclone62 · 07-31-2008, 04:02 PM

BMI measured from height and weight is one of the worst ways to measure BMI IMO.

ISUFan22 · 07-31-2008, 04:05 PM

cloneu · 07-31-2008, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by bostinelosd

"and weighs only six stone." What the hell is that. =)

I just assumed that ment that it takes 6 keystones for a guy to think that female is attractive. But I don't think it works the same when talking about 10 year olds.

rahtotheames · 07-31-2008, 05:09 PM

Yeah I think I'm overweight on that scale too. But it's because my rediculously large muscles are on a small frame of 5-8. And I'm not going to be a little baby about it and cry about how the video games are getting me down.

I really think that the BMI is an awful representation of how fat you are because while I am "overweight", and almost "obese" I have a 9% body fat percentage

cmoneyr · 07-31-2008, 05:12 PM

Ha, fatty fatty bo batty.

cmoneyr · 07-31-2008, 05:17 PM

I had a normal BMI according to Wii Fit, I figured that was good enough for me so I sold it! Mission accomplished.

theshadow · 07-31-2008, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by bostinelosd

"and weighs only six stone." What the hell is that. =)

1 "stone" = 14 lbs.

cloneu · 07-31-2008, 05:30 PM

The following quote is from the Nintendo website.

Wii Fit combines fun and fitness in one product.

When I was a kid we had a similar game for fun and fitness. It was called outside. My parents let me use it all day long. I wonder why they stopped making that game?

bostinelosd · 07-31-2008, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by cloneu

The following quote is from the Nintendo website.

When I was a kid we had a similar game for fun and fitness. It was called outside. My parents let me use it all day long. I wonder why they stopped making that game?

Oh its not as dire as it seems. Kids were playing video games back when I was a kid too and we all managed to get outside from dawn until dusk. I would say a good portion of todays youth is the same. The Wii Fit is just another game to do when you have some inside time. If anything it keeps you moving and not on the couch.