Wii PE?
They can't be serious, can they? I mean, not really. According to The Independent, UK schools are investigating using the Wii to get kids moving with a kind of "virtual phys ed." I don't doubt that child obesity rates are going up, and I'm sure that kids were queuing up at lunchtime for their chance to play with the Wii, but I can't believe that the Wii could have any real, lasting effect. But according to this article, the program got an award for getting the kids active again.
I mean, I guess playing Wii Sports is better than sitting on your arse and eating a box of Twinkies, but it's certainly no substitute for actual physical exercise. I mean, I doubt even Wii Fit will be that effective. Personally, I think the trick is avoiding competitive team sports. I mean, that's why I hated gym class — the over-competitive jocks made it hell. But playing actual tennis or running was okay. Still, I suppose a little activity is better than none, right?
Meet The Latest Answer To Child Obesity: The Wii [The Independent]
[via GamePolitics]
Wootini
Posted to Video Games on 29 January 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: exercise, health, nintendo, obesity, uk, wii, wii sports
Not really a "better than nothing" situation.
I mean, if you stopped going to the gym or playing actual sports (or at least trying to, as was my own personal PE experience) and got Wii-xercise instead, that's a net loss of physical activity.
I mean, I thought it was silly enough when DDR was brought into PE classes.
I love my Wii, and it probably does burn more calories, on average, than my 360 or DS, or a good long sit on the couch, but it is not an exercise machine, inasmuch as anything else that might make you sweat a bit isn't.
Of course, kids today aren't even allowed to play dodgeball or engage in other win/lose scenarios, so what's left?
I played DDR quite a bit during college and I think it helped me to lose weight. Of course, 80 percent of it is diet and 20 percent is exercise, so food is more important. But DDR can really get you to work up a sweat. I agree about competitive sports. I had no interest in them whatsoever.
But really, I don't understand how this silly balance board is supposed to make any difference. There was an exercise game for PS2 which I forget the name of. But it seemed a lot more sensible for weight loss. It mixed up aerobics routines with anaerobic exercises. There also was yoga, but I felt that part of it was inappropriately difficult from the start. The program apparently thought I could balance on one foot while contorting my upper half like a pretzel.