Disgusted with the wii-fit

[Mrs Hobbes]

My DSD came round this weekend and we let her play on our wii-fit. We have all laughed and joked about being told that we're fat and need to lose weight but I was gobsmacked when it told her that she is overweight. She is a healthy 10 year old girl with an active lifestyle, she swims and dances every week. She is 92lbs and 4ft9" tall and there is not an inch of fat on her. She is solidly built but not fat. She was devasted to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her that she isn't. I know it is just a game but seriously we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like the magazine models and now we have a game that tells them their fat. This to me is very worrying and I hope that is doesn't cause emotional problems for any youngsters out there

[Goofysmate]

That is very worrying

[Deedee]

This sort of thing makes me sick, unless you look like a stick these days you are classed as overweight. These insensitive comments can cause a lot of trouble take Karen Carpenter or from years ago Lena Zavaronie(excuse the spelling) They starved themselves to death over some idiots constantly critisizing their weight. Does being thin change the person no personality is what counts not being a bore who is obsessed with being a size zero.

[Snowy-girls]

Our dd7 is very active,rugby every Tue-football every other Wed-drama every Thur-swims every Sat,4ft tall+4stone-it told her she was FAT!!!!!(it was only just on the fat line,but still)There is'nt an ounce on her,she eats like a bird,our dd3 has bigger meals than her!!.We were very shocked+thought exactly what you were thinking about these girls+boys who think there fat-this certainly would'nt help.x.

[Pinky166]

Oh Em. That is shocking. I can totally understand your anger.

One thing that me & my DH have noticed is that our weight is totally out on the wii, when compared to our weekly weigh in on digital bathroom scales and also my weigh in at slimming world every week. It seems to be out by a stone most of the time...that is a LOT!..especially as my DH only weighs 10st 7lbs.

Maybe if she is still upset about it then you could weigh her on some scales and show her on one of those ideal weight charts where she is...hopefully that would reassure her.

[Netty]

maybe worth writing a letter of complaint to nintendo about this

[natalielongstaff]

Originally Posted by Netty

maybe worth writing a letter of complaint to nintendo about this

i agree

[pixiepower04]

Although I don't have the Wii and quite frankly think these kind of gadgets set you up for a fall, I had to move my scales from upstairs to downstairs as upstairs is carpet and downstairs is flooring.

Adjusting this gave me the correct weight (although I put on a stone putting it on flooring ) at least I know it is now correct.

My DD is almost 10 and my DS is almost 8, he is 2 inches taller than her and weighs alot more than her, he eats like a horse, her like a bird, i'm sure he would be classed as overweight and her underweight but he plays football, she dances, she was 9th on the centile at birth, he was 95th, she's still about the 9th and he's on about 75th.

Children are children first and foremost and they all grow at different rates, have growth spurts and go through many different changes.

I would be mortified if anyone said my kids were fat and that's why I don't buy gadgets and gizmos that could set them up for a fall.

I hope you hear back from Nintendo

[WiiTastic]

Originally Posted by Mrs Hobbes

My DSD came round this weekend and we let her play on our wii-fit. We have all laughed and joked about being told that we're fat and need to lose weight but I was gobsmacked when it told her that she is overweight. She is a healthy 10 year old girl with an active lifestyle, she swims and dances every week. She is 92lbs and 4ft9" tall and there is not an inch of fat on her. She is solidly built but not fat. She was devasted to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her that she isn't. I know it is just a game but seriously we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like the magazine models and now we have a game that tells them their fat. This to me is very worrying and I hope that is doesn't cause emotional problems for any youngsters out there

Childhood obesity is a serious issue throughout the world, in the US 1/3rd of children are obese. This is such a problem that that many parents are in denial, as much as I would like to believe your child is the proper weight the facts just doesn't add up.

A child who is 4'9'' and weighs 92lbs has a BMI of 19.9, based on how the Wii uses BMI to classify a child there is no way that a child with a BMI of 19.9 would be classified overweight.

We should praise Nintendo and Wiifit for bringing parents and children together on the same platform and using an unbiased (albeit not perfectly accurate) approach to inform parents if their child is in danger of serious weight related issues such as diabetes, and hypertension.

Now I must go play mario kart

Long live the wii!

[astrodrummergirl]

Hmmm, that's actually quite worrying. Just out of interest, are the borders for BMI the same in every country?

[Pinky166]

Originally Posted by astrodrummergirl

Hmmm, that's actually quite worrying. Just out of interest, are the borders for BMI the same in every country?

Yes they are....your BMI is calculated by your height & weight measurements.

[majortom1981]

I am posting because this was linked to on gonintendo.com.

Is it possible that your daughter put her weight in as a different unit of measurement? Gamefaqs.com states that its by default setup for pounds and inches. Also did the balance board read her weight correctly? Maybe the balanceboard was not level or calibrated right?

I would make sure all those are correct first and have her try again. I computed her bmi and she is in the normal range so I am thinking either the board is not calibrated right or there might be a unit error some where.

Be prepared also for more posts to this topoic as its posted on more forums.

[Sansaarai]

Originally Posted by Mrs Hobbes

My DSD came round this weekend and we let her play on our wii-fit. We have all laughed and joked about being told that we're fat and need to lose weight but I was gobsmacked when it told her that she is overweight. She is a healthy 10 year old girl with an active lifestyle, she swims and dances every week. She is 92lbs and 4ft9" tall and there is not an inch of fat on her. She is solidly built but not fat. She was devasted to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her that she isn't. I know it is just a game but seriously we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like the magazine models and now we have a game that tells them their fat. This to me is very worrying and I hope that is doesn't cause emotional problems for any youngsters out there

Over react much?

[jewelshouse]

Originally Posted by Sansaarai

Over react much?

Ouch!!!! My mom always said if you can't say anything nice . . .

[jewelshouse]

Originally Posted by Mrs Hobbes

My DSD came round this weekend and we let her play on our wii-fit. We have all laughed and joked about being told that we're fat and need to lose weight but I was gobsmacked when it told her that she is overweight. She is a healthy 10 year old girl with an active lifestyle, she swims and dances every week. She is 92lbs and 4ft9" tall and there is not an inch of fat on her. She is solidly built but not fat. She was devasted to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her that she isn't. I know it is just a game but seriously we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like the magazine models and now we have a game that tells them their fat. This to me is very worrying and I hope that is doesn't cause emotional problems for any youngsters out there

I know what you mean, I have a 9 year old and it's a shame they are already concerned with body image at this age. It's sad especially when they are at an age where their body image and self-esteem is fragile.