Adam on Nintendo Wii Fit: average person is overweight

Will says:

What on earth are you talking about? “The average person is overweight.” This statement is erroneous in the extreme. The average person is not overweight.
Perhaps in the USA it has reached that bloated standard but in real countries (i.e:not states containing the descendants of rebel fiends, a modern society which should have been nipped in the bud before their stunted vampire economy grew) the average person is NOT overweight. England, Ireland, France, Scotland, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, Chile, Italy, Wales, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Russia…all countries where Wii Fitness will be sold and all countries where the majority of people are healthy.
But I called your statement “erroneous in the extreme.” How do I qualify that? Because Wii Fitness is actually targeted at people who may wish to exercise, such as overweight people, making your ridiculously incorrect comment ludicrously irreverent.
And now I shall move onto your other major offence. You claim quite assuredly that this pressure sensitive device, a medium of calculating exactly how a person is stood, will be rendered unreliable for detection and BMI reporting by the extraneous input given to it from plush flooring. I must tell you that when I read such a conceited comment I reread it to make sure that the information I had managed to absorb through your poor command of the English language was what you had intended to communicate. I was in utter disbelief. Do you live in a house with buoyancy akin to an inflated rubber castle designed for juvenile minds to entertain themselves in. By which I mean to say: DO YOU LIVE IN A DAMNED BOUNCY CASTLE?
While I must admit that plush carpets are an alien invention to me, I can not understand how any carpet could simply have the buoyancy to offset weighing devices, or in this case, highly advanced digital scales. The mind boggles to conceive how even a six inch high plush carpet, which I assume is even more extreme than what you have, could make the balance board not fully accurately measure the pressure applied at each point. Surely the thick balance board would not receive pressure from underneath that could inform the reading from the actual sensor?
Finally “the shell looks similar to the wiimote shell.” I’m sorry but I can glean no comprehension in relation to this utterly bizarre statement. And about the added stress of exercise? The whole point of this software and hardware package is to bring exercise in the home in the form of computerised technology, to show graphs and have games for fun and so on. The “stress” of exercise is the whole point for insecure overweight people like you. To put this into context, although I am not overweight and have only recently gained a small extruding stomach bulge due to the inactivity and over eating that my month of school exams and thereafter relaxation has brought upon me, I am terribly, atrociously physically incompetent and unfit, yet I look forward to the idea of exercise presented as fun, such as press-ups. In fact, the very hours before I learnt about Wii Fitness, I was considering doing press-ups and exercise for the next day’s paint ball activity. So for somebody to be afraid of such a concept who is not otherwise disabled and would therefore disregard the activity completely is a very intriguing idea that makes me think of you having a physicality similar to Homer Simpson.
Because I had already established that your mentality was so positioned.

goeff urself says:

Will,
The reason people are overweight in The U.S. is because of the abundance of wealth there. Half the countries you listed are third worlders and all on your list are socialstic. Gee I’am so surprised that people in those countries are so undernourished. I guess from each according to his needs from each according to his abilities hasnt worked out as well as Free Market Capitalism.
Other than that part of your comment I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Arielle says:

Actually, Will, although I find your argument compelling, the whole part about other countries in comparison to the U.S. wasn’t really needed. As for the “all countries where Wii Fitness will be sold and all countries where the majority of people are healthy,” do you really think people living in African villages will buy this? No. How about any of the third-world countries you mentioned, like certain parts of Russia and Brazil? I doubt that, too. Also, you say that people are “healthy” there. While their diets tend to consist of less fat, many people from the poorer parts of those countries will die far before the average, middle-class American with health insurance.

The wealthy people from those areas you mentioned might get it, but otherwise, those aren’t the only places where it’ll sell. The U.S. will most likely have an interest in Wii Fit since they can afford it and want a fun way to lose their extra pounds. Not all of us are slobs, nor are we all overweight. Other than that, I agree with you. Just calm down a little.

Also, Geoff, “abundance of wealth” isn’t entirely why Americans are overweight. Lots of poor people are overweight because all they can afford are $5 worth of fast food every day. They often can’t afford to buy healthier foods at a grocery store because it is far more expensive, especially if you go every week or two.

I personally think Wii Fit is a great idea. I find regular exercise to be quite boring and tedious, and I’m currently just bouncing on a trampoline so that I don’t dread having to go on the damn stationary bike in the basement. If I could mix that with some Wii Fit time as well as being able to monitor my improvement on-screen, I could definitely see myself in better physical condition. I’m certainly not overweight (115 pound female at 5′2″,) but I do like to keep in shape, and Wii Fit is attractive to me in that sense.

Wii Fit will be the next “Brain Age” phenomenon, only this time it’s for the body and not the mind.

Don says:

I have to agree with tso, if Reggie can use it you have to be really overwieght to break it. Why is this article even published. I thought it was from a serious source. This could be another Xbox fanboy trying to put doubt in another big N innovation. I will pick one up because i know that Nintendo stands behind their products.