Get Inside and Get Some Exercise!

It sounds too good to be true – a video game that gives you exercise? Impossible.

And yet this week the folks at Nintendo have found a way to do just that. It is a marriage as unlikely as peanut butter and cottage cheese, Republicans and Democrats. After all, Nintendo is part of the evil empire when it comes to fitness, a tool of inactivity so powerful it has caused generations of kids to park themselves on their butts in front of TVs across the country.

But this week Nintendo introduced the Wii Fit. Used in conjunction with the Wii Balance Board, the idea is to provide physical activity with the fun of video games. No longer will mom have to yell at the kids (or the dad, for that matter) to go outside and get some exercise.

Now, they can stay inside and exercise to their hearts content with activities such as a hula hoop routine, yoga or dancing – all while warming themselves by the glow of the ol’ TV. Reviews have been pretty solid so far – I haven’t personally tried one, but then again, the last time I played video games was in college. And people should get some benefit from it, since doing any kind of physical activity has to be better than none.

But is it a long-term strategy for getting and staying shape, or improving your health overall? That remains to be seen. Besides, unless they continue to come up with new versions of the game odds are people will tire of it the way they do any other game.

Now, if they could combine Grand Theft Auto with Wii Fit – running from bad guys, hand-to-hand combat – just think of the workout you’d get.

--Scott Samples
Public Information Coordinator