The Good Fortune of Wii Exercise

eldavojohn writes "While some users of the Wii complained of soreness or 'Wii elbow' when playing it too much, others are heralding its workout value. The University of Toronto is working on a 'therapeutic video game' for the Wii that is designed to help children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy exercise their weaker limb, people are claiming weight loss and in the January issue of Pediatrics the Mayo clinic is proposing that gaming systems like the Wii can combat child obesity."

Sad Statement

[HappySqurriel]

I love my Wii, but think that people losing weight from playing Wii games is more a sad statement on how out of shape people are then the implicit greatness of the Wii.

Good things are sometimes bad signs

[Dark Kenshin]

It's all well in good that the wii and similar gaming setups have other advantages besides the primary use.

However, it is a sorry state of society if a video game is the only thing that can combat child obesity effectively. I believe more thought should go into an article when they mention stuff like this, and not just hype the somewhat depressing advantages.

Re:Rocking Wii School...

[Mr. Ksoft]

Let's hope so. Because the normal PE programs discriminate against me and my geekiness.

Agreed

[truthsearch]

I bet if those same people walked an hour each day they'd lose the same or more weight. But at this point if it takes the games of the wii to motivate them then it's overall a good thing.

Physical Therapy

[DeathKoil]

People losing weight from playing a video is great and all, though it does shed light on how out of shape some people are. However, I've thought about the Wii and how its use could be great for people in physical therapy.

A while back a friend of mine broke his arm, and was in physical therapy for 8 weeks. During this time he had to do a lot of exercises with his arm and would always complain about how boring and annoying it was, sitting in a room with a bunch of other hurt people, doing exercises for an hour three times a week. Well, it turns out that the motion of bowling on the Wii is almost just like an exercise he had to do. It would be interesting to what would happen if physical therapists got someone to make a fun game for the Wii, that makes you do the exercises that you are supposed to do anyway.

broken arm

[Allison Geode]

i broke my arm when i fell off my bicycle over the summer. specifically, i fractured the radial head, which is a part of the elbow which controls fore-arm rotation. (as the doctor explained it to me, IANAMD) though the arm healed, the range of motion never returned fully. After my first week of having a wii (last week) my arm was INCREDIBLY stiff, and my range of motion limited, so i took it easy for a few days. now, however, the range has returned... and then some, moreso than how it was before i got the wii. its not back to the full, pre-break range yet, but..... its more than it was, and i think the constant and continuous use of my arms motion has probably helped.

is it possible that this thing could be used in physical therapy?

There's more to it

[Cloud K]

I've seen people say that it's not enough exercise,
that it's a sad state of society that it takes games to get people to move (whatever... society never is pretty),
that one shouldn't use the Wii as a substitute for proper exercise
etc etc.

But that's just it. First off, for many people any exercise is good exercise. Many people these days get *none* (other than walking to the fridge) so this is a major improvement.

Secondly - it's not about what exercise the Wii gives you. It's about getting you on track. Since getting mine I got the "fitness bug" and have been doing other exercise activities (such as a brisk walk at lunchtime) and eating far more healthily. I'm even tempted to try some of the sports in reality. All of that was inspired by the Wii, and whoever thought up this idea needs a medal.

Thirdly - even if you only count the Wii exercise, every little helps. It may not be much on its own, but when combined with using the stairs instead of the elevator on the way to work or whatever, parking further away and walking further, etc etc... it all adds up.

Re:Rocking Wii School...

[Guppy06]

"So I guess school districts will cancel their P.E. programs to pay for the new Nintendo Wii fitness program?"

My Wii has yet to throw a dodgeball at my face.