Is it true that Wii Fit makes people lose weight?

Wii Fit is a trendy toy for those who have outgrown game consoles. Nintendo can understand: who would want to lose an audience, especially when it enters the solvent age. If there is not enough pocket money for the desired toy, the buyer is already big and can buy it on credit, rather than promising mom and dad to finish the year without triples.

Consumers, as usual, are divided into those who are delighted with the novelty, and those who are skeptical. On YouTube videos with twisting hula hoop girls alternate with snide ones parodies of advertising “WiiFit will bring the whole family back from the playground to the TV! Why spend three dollars on a hula hoop when you can buy Wii Fit for just two hundred and fifty ?! “

A plastic stand that looks like either a bathroom scale or a miniature step platform is the main part of the Wii. All exercises, except for running, are performed on or near it, and sensors record whether you are holding and moving correctly. The set also includes a joystick with a built-in motion sensor connected to the set-top box via an infrared port. The joystick is held in hand if the chosen sport involves some kind of equipment – a tennis racket, club or fishing rod, and the console monitors whether you have a good serve and whether you are casting the hook correctly.

How it works

You will install the software that will offer to create a character – your screen image. You can create it to your liking – set the gender, constitution, appearance. Then indicate your individual characteristics: gender, date of birth, height, and – yes! – step on the board for the first time to activate the program. The prefix will react to the end of the process with fanfare, and an electronic voice will tell you how much you weigh, what is your body mass index and how old you are, according to the prefix’s calculations.

If you have developed muscles – be prepared to hear the killer “excess weight!”: The formula for calculating BMI does not distinguish between fat and muscle. Don’t be alarmed if the device says your Wii is older than your passport. The piece of iron calculates age based on how quickly you completed the installation tests, in accordance with some of your age norms.

The basis of the WiiFit principle is balance. Based on it, your level of Wee training is determined, and what type of game the console will offer you. Balance games include slalom, ski jumping, table tennis and soccer head pass practice.

“A lot of the WiiFit exercise is in the exercise category that requires slow, precise movement,” explains Mark Franklin, director of public relations for Nintendo America, in an interview with WebMD.

But, experts say, the development of the ability to maintain balance on the board weakly reflects the level of physical fitness and actual dexterity. “Agility, balance, coordination are important functional characteristics, but they are not indicative of athletic performance,” says Cedric Bryant, MD, chief scientific adviser to the American Council of Physical Education.

Other games

WiiFit also offers yoga, stretching and aerobics. Initially, there are four or five options for each type of load. The console keeps the rest of the games with it for the time being: if you work out longer, you will get a hidden surprise.

For example, when practicing yoga, you can choose between deep breathing and different asanas – “tree pose”, “crescent moon” or “warrior”. Bryant, who personally tested the console, said that he was “pleasantly surprised” by this feature, especially the fact that it provides biofeedback (with its help, it is recorded how correctly you maintain a particular position for a while). But true yoga aficionados might find it a profanity: “WiiFit makes learning easy for the fun of laymen!”

If you prefer strength training, then you can choose between those for which you need to balance on one leg, torso twists, lunges, bends, and one-handed presses. The balance platform does not allow you to track whether you are doing these exercises correctly, it only records how many times you have done them, and provides valuable advice such as “lower your hips” when doing presses.

First, the virtual trainer arranges a demo training for you, then accompanies you during the exercise itself. A male or female voice shouts something encouraging such as “Well done!”

Every time you weigh in, you get a “per day” mark. The program takes into account how many minutes you did every day, records how much you weigh now and how much weight you want to achieve. But it doesn’t account for calories burned, which makes people think they’ve spent more effort than they actually did.

“It’s actually great that there is an opportunity to take advantage of the technology that was originally associated with sedentary leisure and offer playful activities that young people like. Of course, it’s better than just video games. But they should not be considered an adequate substitute for fitness. “

Active holiday from Nintendo

Manufacturers do not promise that a new toy will help you lose weight or become healthier. This is just an attempt to add a useful feature to the game – the ability to track progress in weight loss and add physical activity to the game. A person wants to play – let him wave his hands and twist his hips rather than squeeze a couple of bags of chips. Well, for those who already go to the gym, WiiFit will not give anything new.

“There is hope that the new console will encourage video game lovers to become a little more physically active; in the house, there will be a conversation about fitness at all, ”says Franklin.

In July 2008, the results of a study by the American Council of Physical Education (original as PDF file can be downloaded from their website). It was found that the only game on the Wii that gives a load comparable to the real load is boxing. Virtual golf, bowling, baseball and tennis all require half the calories of real ones.

Half as much, but still better than nothing. And if you get involved in such a pastime in front of the TV and prowl for half an hour, you can burn 216 calories (which is 51 more than in half an hour of brisk walking). Wii tennis for 30 minutes will cost your body 159 calories. Not enough for weight loss, but quite enough for self-justification.

Based on materials WebMD и ACEFitness.