Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Wii Fitness
This week, Wii Fitness will hit U.S. stores. We already know that people -- particularly seniors --
have been using the popular game console to increase their level of physical activity, and others have adopted it as a tool for rehabbing from serious injuries (see this earlier post).
Wii Fitness is intended to take the connection between video gaming and health to the next level. It offers almost 50 exercises divided among four categories: aerobics, balance, strength training, and yoga. Each user creates a Mii, a cartoon-like avatar, and a personal profile that includes a potential weight goal. The sytem tracks each Mii's weight and body-mass index, as well as its performance on individual exercises.
Some exercises--like yoga and skiing--use a 12" by 20" Wii Fit board; running, on the other hand, uses the motion-sensitive Wii controller as a pedometer.
The New York Times recently tested Wii Fitness with several user types: a busy mom with no time to go to the gym; an 18 year old self-proclaimed gym rat; a yoga master; a fitness professional; and a couch potato. All but the yogi were impressed.
From the gym rat, who recognized that he is not the intended audience for the product:
Over all, I liked it a lot. It seems really well-designed for the people it’s for. I worked up a sweat with a couple of the exercises. . . . If you really committed to the strength exercises, you could actually get some results. That said, if you’re really looking to get fit, join a gym. But this would be great for mothers, or if they want their kids to get a little more in shape.
The fitness professional expressed surprise:
Actually I think it’s pretty good. . . .You can definitely get a workout. When I started doing it, I realized all the activities were pretty much on point. . . . [O]ver all, I thought they did a good job and this will be a good tool for people who can’t make it to the gym. . . . I can see this in a seniors center or senior community and it would be very interesting to be able to set up a whole class of people on boards, tracking their progress.