Wii Fit scrutinised beneath the scientific microscope

by Stevie Smith - Jan 5 2009, 13:00

When it comes to the continuing popularity of the motion-sensing Nintendo Wii and its Wii Fit program, there’s every chance that Christmas 2008 saw a great many lucky festive revellers finding the hugely desirable videogame console and Wii Balance Board packaged up beneath the tree.

U.S. families in six-month study looking into effectiveness of Wii Fit. Image: Nintendo.

And, with Christmas and the New Year generally acknowledged to be a period of excess, it will likely prick the ears of gamers everywhere to note that the scientific community is looking to assess the worth of Wii Fit as a means of burning off any accrued Christmas flab.Specifically, U.S. researcher Scott Owens of the University of Mississippi is presently running a multiple-family study investigating how much positive effect Wii Fit has on the fitness levels of users across a prolonged period of time.The study, which began in the autumn of 2008 when Wii Fit was officially released to U.S. retail, is being conducted with the help of eight participating families who have all been loaned the Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit for a total of three months.“There has been an upswing in sales of whole body movement video games over the past few years,” commented Owens in a statement. “This potentially could help family fitness, so we are looking at the research aspect to see if family fitness improves after purchasing one of these whole body movement game consoles.”Fitness changes will be monitored and measured across a period of six months, the first three months of which will see families equipped with the Wii and Wii Fit and the second three months without.

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wickedcelticsJan 6th, 2009 - 15:47:26

This is absurd! How can traditional exercises like push-ups and sit-ups, which the Wii Fit includes, be anything BUT great for you!? Just because it's in video game format doesn't mean the exercises are any less efffective. C'mon people, this is a no brainer. More proof if you need it, although you might like it:

wickedceltics on youtube 'Wii Fit as Long as I Live' song and music video

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