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Britain’s National Health (kind of) Supports Wii Fit Plus

Oct 26th, 2009
by James.
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According to the Telegraph, Wii Fit Plus, which launches in Britain on October 30th, will arrive at stores carrying the Change4Life logo.

You may remember that earlier this year the Change4Life campaign released a PSA which depicted video games among the factors contributing to childhood obesity. To be fair, the ads, which were created by the great animation team behind Wallace and Gromit, didn’t single out video games. Rather they included games among a number of modern conveniences that make it easy for us to live a more sedentary lifestyle.

The campaign also included a more inflammatory print ad. The message of the advertisement is that a sedentary lifestyle leads to obesity, and obesity is associated with health problems that shorten your lifespan. However some in the game industry felt that the message was that playing video games leads directly to early death, and that games are being needlessly demonized.

While I understand that watching TV, reading a book, or going to the movies are all just as sedentary as playing games, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect a single page ad or a 90-second spot to tick every box just so no one activity feels singled out. Video games are being used as short hand for inactivity because it’s the most relatable for today’s parents and kids. If childhood obesity had been recognized as a problem 20 years ago, the boogeyman would have been plopping kids down in front of cartoons.

Change4Life caught some flak for targeting games in the initial campaign, and has since come around to supporting active video games as part of combating childhood obesity. A more recent TV ad included a Dance Dance Revolution type game as one way to get 60 minutes of activity a day.

Now with the launch of Wii Fit Plus, Change4Life has offered its most overt support for active video games yet.

A spokesman for the British department of health denied it was endorsing a video game, but said rather it was promoting exercise. “Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving,”

IrishTimes.com

While not coming out and endorsing Wii Fit Plus as a product, the embrace of active gaming as part of a healthy lifestyle is a welcome change in attitude for the organization that shows they are not trying to paint games as a villain with a single broad stroke, but rather trying to promote awareness of healthier choices.

Interestingly, Nintendo is paying to promote the Change4Life, which could be construed as a conflict of interest for the program. This may explain why Change4Life is reluctant to endorse Nintendo or Wii Fit Plus, and are instead focusing on promoting activity and exercise in a more general sense.

Mad Science Claims that Moving Around Burns More Calories than Sitting Still

Jul 19th, 2009
by James.
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A study published this week in the online journal Pediatrics has come to a startling conclusion.

This is science

This is science

According to the article, children who play active video games like Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution burn more calories than children who sit still in one place with jaws slack and eyes buggin’. Using the mighty powers of science, it has been conclusively proven that moving about requires more energy than not moving at all! A follow up study is planned wherein some children will shower daily, and others not one bit. The hypothesis: some correlation exists between the frequency of cleaning filth from the skin folds and the overall bouquet of the human body.

While the basic conclusions of the study seem pretty obvious, it has turned up some worthwhile data.

The study consisted of 14 boys and 9 girls, ages 10-13. They watched television, played DDR at two difficulty levels, and played Wii Sports bowling and boxing. It measured energy expenditure, heart rate, step rate, and perceived exertion.

Wii Boxing or DDR both burned as many calories as walking at about 3.5mph. That’s a brisk pace for a lot of people. Surprising since Wii Boxing, which is played only with your arms, burned as many calories as DDR which is played with the legs and generally involves a fair amount of hopping and scrambling. It may be that the kids were putting their whole bodies into Wii Boxing and getting more out of it than if they were to just flick and waggle their way through a match.

Not surprisingly, Wii Bowling and lower level did not have the same benefit as the more intense games. But it still burned twice as many calories as just watching TV.

Here’s the conclusion straight from the mouth of the science horse:

Conclusions Energy expenditure during active video game play is comparable to moderate-intensity walking. Thus, *for children who spend considerable time playing electronic screen games for entertainment, physically active games seem to be a safe, fun, and valuable means of promoting energy expenditure.

*Emphasis Added

In a time where some are calling for games to carry warning labels stating that they are risk to your health, it’s nice to see some facts proving quite the opposite. As an adult who spends considerable time playing electronic screen games for entertainment it’s reassuring to see the medical establishment condone active gaming as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Via the LA Times

“Walk It Out” Debut Trailer

Jul 11th, 2009
by James.
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Konami has posted a trailer for a new game called Walk It Out. From the looks of it you can use the remote and nunchuk, balance board, or a Dance Dance Revolution dance mat to simulate walking. That’s right! Walking.

Walk It Out Logo

In addition to walking, you may also see a rainbow, build a hotel, or whack a jelly martian with a giant meat tenderizer.

That notorious jelly man is about to get what's coming to him.

That notorious jelly man is about to get what's coming to him.

It looks while you’re walking, you’ll be able to build stuff in the world around you. It appears as though each thing you want to build has a cost, so you’ll need to earn points somehow. Probably in the minigames. I’m not sure how many different game concepts you can build around walking, but I’m hoping they go in some creative directions with it.

The trailer promises a hundred of your favorite songs. I’m pretty sure the game will not actually include a hundred of my favorite songs. But if it includes Bob Dylan’s rendition of Dixie or Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, you can color me pleasantly surprised.

Check out the trailer below. Try to get past Liz’s crazed exuberance. I think she and Dad may have some history together, so it’s all a bit awkward.

So there you have it. What do you think? Does this look like it could be fun? Are you frightened by Liz’s crazed enthusiasm? Are you looking forward to walking to 100 of your favorite songs? And if so, does this give you a reason to do it in your house instead of outside with an .mp3 player?

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN <<WALKING>> BEFORE??? OMG. IT'S AMAAAZZING!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN WALKING BEFORE??? OMG. IT'S AMAAAZZING!

Internet Huckster: Video Games worse than Marlboros

Jul 6th, 2009
by James.
1 comment
Today, a site called Winston Salem Fitness reprinted a Go Articles story called Are Wii Kidding Ourselves in which the author makes the leap from “Wii Fit isn’t as good as a personal trainer”, to “video games should have labels warning that they make you dangerously fat”.
Super Mario soars through the night's sky bringing obesity, diabetes, and death to the youth of America. Wa-hooo!

Super Mario soars through the night's sky bringing obesity, diabetes, and an early grave to the youth of America. Wa-hooo!

For the most part, I agree with the first part of the article. The gist -Wii Fit doesn’t offer many exercises that actually require you purchase the game. For example, you could do lunges just as well without a fancy balance board. Also, Wii Fit doesn’t do a good job of separating advanced exercises from simple stretches and balance activities.

It’s true that Wii Fit doesn’t really provide you with much that’s unique. It’s a lot like an exercise video. You could Sweat to the Oldies without Richard Simmons, but by following his bouncing short-shorts and soaking in his affirmations you feel a bit more motivated to work out. In other words, spritely Richard just makes it more fun. Additionally, a Tae Bo video includes activities that may not be suitable for beginners. It’s up to the viewer to set their own pace.

Like an exercise video, Wii Fit gives you something to follow along with. It also goes a bit further by providing incentives to keep trying new activities, and giving you specific feedback.

But it’s not the criticism of Wii Fit that’s the problem, it’s the bizarre conclusion that the article draws:

Overall, I give Nintendo credit for trying to make a game that tries to get people to be more active, which is more than can be said for other video game manufacturers. However, this will not do anything in terms of chipping away at the American obesity problem. *In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that the video game industry needs to follow the route of the tobacco and alcohol manufacturers, and state that excessive use of their product could lead to inactivity and obesity, rather than try to make a half-hearted effort at increasing American activity levels.

*Emphasis added.

It seems the point of the article is that since Wii Fit isn’t as effective as a live personal trainer, all video games should carry warning labels that they contribute to obesity and poor health.

If we were to follow his advice we would need to add warning labels to crossword puzzles, novels, knitting needles, and the the trusty rocking chair. While we’re at it I suppose we should also add warning labels to food, since excessive use contributes to obesity.

Unsurprisingly, if you follow the article all the way back to its source you’ll end up at a site peddling a weight-loss program.

By targeting the popular game Wii Fit (even if it is a year late to the party) and challenging gaming in general, the author is sure to drum up attention. Gamers love a flame war. And by tapping into fear mongering there’s a good chance the article might get picked up by mainstream outlets too. So it’s a marketing win/win for the author. Nice job, I guess.

In internet talk the act of making provocative statements to inflame readers to rile up attention has a name, Trolling. It’s seldom appreciated, but often effective.

By posting this, I’m violating the cardinal rule – “don’t feed the troll”. However if you can look past the sensationalist statement in the article, there are some valid critiques of Wii Fit. They just don’t add up to the bizarre and unfounded conclusion.

via Destructoid

Oh hey – now that that’s over with, let’s watch some Sweatin’ to the Oldies!