Wii Fit: Should kids be called ‘Obese’?
May 18th, 2008 Posted in Games, NewsWhilst looking through Kotaku, as I do daily, I came across this story, which mentions that perhaps children shouldn’t be playing Wii Fit, as the use of BMI may not be suitable for them. Nintendo’s response to this claim is included in the article, and is essentially an acceptance that BMI may not be the most accurate choice of variable for children, and they apologise for any offense that may be caused by this terminology.
At first, I thought it was just another psychologist being a friggin idiot, and trying to make something else in our world suck (this place is far too politically correct these days, it hurts). But you know what? I think I agree!
I am a big guy. I have been up and down, sometimes very thin, sometimes (like now) pretty big. As I am tall, and have quite the large frame as it is, BMI suggest that my healthy body weight is about 75 kgs, where 80 is pushing overweight. In reality, this is slightly low, as at 80 kgs, my doctor told me I needed to put on a little more weight to be healthy (I was quite the unhealthy chappy back then, hehe). Of course, I’ve accepted the fact that I am well and truly over my healthy amount at this point.
However, during an annual health exam last year, the doctor referred to my “obesity”. I was taken aback, as throughout my life, I had always believed “obese” was a terrible word, only used for those who were really overweight, and couldn’t get out of bed, etc., when in reality, it is a simple word for those of us that are so overweight that it is likely to be impacting their health. I can accept this- my alcohol consumption and lack of exercise are two contributors, and I am aware of this. I am adult enough to come to terms with it.
But can kids? Many kids have a little extra “puppy fat” (I hate that term, but still) while they are growing, and even if they could stand to lose a little weight, should they be called obese? There is an alarming trend towards eating disorders amongst kids these days, and I’m pretty sure this kind of thing isn’t going to help things. Of course, with a little focused parenting, the labelling by the game can be put into context prior to its use, but it shouldn’t really have to be. Perhaps the game should take age into consideration, and change its terminology for its younger users. Or perhaps we need to stop coddling our kids– if they are obese, then they need to do something about it (and I have seen some worryingly large kids around these days).
Then again, I haven’t played the game. I haven’t seen the context in which the terms are used, it could be completely harmless in its use, for all I know. How about yourself? Have you tried the game? Do you think kids might take it the wrong way, or is it somewhat clinical in its presentation?
I say tell them they are obese. It’s the only way kids will learn. Wish someone had told me when i was on the way to the high end of the scale. Stop molly coddling the kids. Tell fatty to lose some weight and tell skinny to put some on (it does that too).
Perhaps a newer and more precise version of BMI needs to come out, as BMI is mostly bollocks anyway.
It’s probaly true, we are far too protective of our kids these days. We’re far to protective of everything, in reality. We’re too afraid that anything we do is gonna have repurcussions in future- but perhaps being too weak-kneed and pansy-like have just as bad consequences.
Good to hear it tells skeletal types to put some weight on, that makes me chuckle.