Anyone else pick up a Wii Fit last night?

[Caretaker]

I'd get a Wii Fit, particularly for those days when going outside is not an option. Of course, I'd first need to get my hands on a frickin' Wii in the first place.

 

[Azlynn]

^It doesn't seem to be that difficult at the moment. I'd seen them in stock at several stores before finally giving in and buying one yesterday.

 

[unimatrix7]

I'm going to wait until there are some studies that show whether it has any measurable effect on one's fitness.

WiiFit will do precious little to improve the two aspects of fitness that matter the most: the ability to perform strength-related tasks, and the ability to work aerobically.

The 'WiiFit age,' therefore, isn't worth a cracker: it is derived from a formula based on your ability to balance, your BMI, and your actual age and doesn't really tell anybody anything at all. Balance is but one tiny aspect of fitness, and I would suggest that unless you are literally falling over your own two feet (or you're a 70 year old woman with osteoperosis), it really isn't that crucial. I would also suggest that none of the balance exercises on WiiFit will help you do anything other than become more proficient at the balance exercises on WiiFit.

As for BMI, it is yet another magical number that doesn't really tell anyone anything. BMI is the best of a bad bunch when it comes to determining obesity, but it is deeply flawed and scarcely relevant these days. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if one were to burn fat and build muscle - which is par for course in most fitness programs - one's BMI would not necessarily be dropping.

I'm not suggesting that Nintendo should've include a pair of body fat calipers or a DEXA in every WiiFit box, but they could've at least done a bit of research. The only viable and inexpensive 'do it yourself' method of measuring body fat is bioelectrical impedence. Flawed as it is, at the very least it indicates body fat as a percentage (which is what we should be concerned with), and not just body mass and could easily have been incorporated into the balance board.

WiiFit is a fitness tool designed by geeky developers who know nothing about fitness. Take the money you were going to spend on WiiFit and buy a Reebok step: an inexpensive and sorely underrated fitness tool.

 

[Sledder]

It's fun and gets your heart rate up. The added benefit for someone like me who sits at a computer all day for work is that it has some good stretching exercises which I badly need.

All in all I like the product.

 

[Small White Car]

WiiFit will do precious little to improve the two aspects of fitness that matter the most:

Nice long post, but you miss the obvious. You somehow assume this thing is going to replace the gym for people who go there. No, it's going to replace 'nothing' for people who do no exercise.

And for THOSE people, the most important aspect of fitness is this: Burn Calories.

Ok, maybe it's sad that this is the benchmark, but that's it. We spend all day sitting in our cars, sitting at our desk, and sitting in front of the TV. Just getting up and MOVING is a huge improvement.

Wii Fit does that just fine, and I find it funny that some people are waiting for "studies" to show them that jumping around will burn more calories than sitting on the couch.

Yes, it will!

 

[Trippy]

Me, I just want it for the fun aspect...I get all my actual workout at the gym or going for a nice long walk on nice days...but a little fun with the Wii works for me too

 

[unimatrix7]

WiiFit will do precious little to improve the two aspects of fitness that matter the most:

Nice long post, but you miss the obvious. You somehow assume this thing is going to replace the gym for people who go there. No, it's going to replace 'nothing' for people who do no exercise.

And for THOSE people, the most important aspect of fitness is this: Burn Calories.

Ok, maybe it's sad that this is the benchmark, but that's it. We spend all day sitting in our cars, sitting at our desk, and sitting in front of the TV. Just getting up and MOVING is a huge improvement.

Wii Fit does that just fine, and I find it funny that some people are waiting for "studies" to show them that jumping around will burn more calories than sitting on the couch.

Yes, it will!

I assumed no such thing, and I agree that anything that gets people moving is A Good Thing. I was merely pointing out the deficiencies in WiiFit as a tool in improving one's fitness and its inferiority relative to a proper, progressively-overloaded exercise regime.

I actually think the balance board itself is fantastic, and it has serious potential as an input device for more traditional games - much more than waggling the Wiimote (the Wiimote, IMO, is the most horribly overrated and downright broken product in the entire history of gaming). The step aerobics minigame on WiiFit is almost worth the price of admission by itself, and so is the marble madness-ish thing. It's good stuff, but people are fooling themselves if they think that WiiFit will turn their lives around.