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Wii Fit; the new way for kids to exercise
By Christina | May 18, 2008
I was recently at a friend’s wellness center which is geared for children and they were sharing with me a new system to get children motivated to exercise. It’s called Wii Fit and it sounds like an excellent idea but I suppose we will have to wait for the real world results. They created a space in the gym where they will have the games set up and kids can come in and get moving.
Wii Fit was first revealed as Wii Health Pack, by Shigeru Miyamoto, during a conference in mid-September of 2006. When it was created the concept was to get families interacting and exercising together. Mr. Miyamoto has designed many games and always they are a reflection of his daily life.
One of the elements I find interesting about the game is that it measures and charts your body mass index. Wii Fit uses a unique platform peripheral called the Wii Balance Board that can measure a user’s weight and their center of gravity, and calculate their body mass index when told the user’s height. The game has about 40 different activities, including yoga poses, push ups, and other exercises. Furthermore, Wii Fit allows its players to compare their fitness by using Wii Fit’s own channel on the Wii Menu.
Another aspect to the game I really like is how it is divided into four categories: aerobic exercise, muscle workouts, yoga poses, and balance games. The activities provide a core workout, emphasising controlled movements rather than overexertion. As I said, only time will tell if this really works to get children moving and motivated to exercise but it is astep in the right direction.
Topics: Fitness Fads, General |
