Wii Fit game tells 10 year-old she's fat
Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Teens & tweens, In The News, Playground Bureau
In spite of the fact that my butt has been consistently kicked by my six-year-old in tennis and that I score in the seventy-year-old range in the annoyingly difficult Wii Fitness tests, I love Wii Sports. Because the real world facts are I'm not even forty yet (I've just had major co-ordination issues my entire life!) and that I would cream the kindergartner on a real tennis court. I just laugh off my geriatric Wii age and losses to someone who still thinks a monster might reside in our heat ducts.
However, a ten-year-old girl from the UK wasn't amused when a Wii Fit game called her fat. The 4' 9" swimmer and dancer, who weighs 84 lbs, was crushed when the gaming system, which uses a BMI index based on adult height and weights, ranked her stats as "fat." According to her father, "She is solidly built but not fat. She was devastated to be called fat and we had to work hard to convince her she isn't. I know it is just a game but we already have to worry about young girls starving themselves to look like magazine models and now we have a game that tells them they're fat. This to me is very worrying."
A company rep issued the following apology, "Nintendo would like to apologize to any customers offended by the in-game terminology used to classify a player's current BMI status, as part of the BMI measurement system integrated into Wii Fit. Wii Fit is still capable of measuring the BMI for people aged between two and 20 but the resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development."
It is really too bad the makers of the game included felt the need to include the labels at all. Weight is a highly sensitive topic and no one of ANY age wants to be called fat, nor is it helpful.
Wii Fit was just released in the United States yesterday, which means you'll find it at incredible discounts at garage sales later this summer because a game that calls kids fat is not cool.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ame s 5-20-2008 @ 1:34PM
I understand how her parents feel. Our insurance company put an upcharge on the coverage for my 10 year old daughter because she is 5 feet tall and weighs 105. She swims competitively, rides horses and plays soccer.
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Victoria 5-20-2008 @ 2:35PM
That's interesting, because when I typed 4'9" & 84 lbs into an adult bmi calculator, it spat out 18.2, which is underweight. Error in the article? Or error in Wii's programming?
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CLM 5-20-2008 @ 4:43PM
Gah! Muscle weighs more than fat. When I am at my most fit, I usually weigh around 115 (at 5'2"). When I'm not working out regularly, I can drop as low as 104 without a change in clothing size. Most of these supposedly scientific measures are bunk.
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Alyssa 5-20-2008 @ 6:00PM
How many people will actually lose weight with this thing? I mean we're Americans: http://www.236.com/news/2008/05/20/how_will_the_wii_fit_affect_am_6628.php
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the goddess anna 5-20-2008 @ 6:10PM
I call BS. Since this story broke, there have been plenty of people refuting the 'fat' claim by punching in the same numbers as this little girl. It states that her height and weight are in the healthy range. Either someone in her household typed in the wrong numbers, or her 6 stone weight is closer to 7 stone, in which she would be overweight - and her parents are pushing the blame for this on everybody but themselves.
The Wii Fit has been out in Europe since April. If it was really calling people fat, we'd have heard about it by now. Maybe the parents neglected to read the disclaimer about how the BMI calculations were for adults, not children.
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Meagan 5-21-2008 @ 11:27AM
I agree... I don't have it yet but I was also under the impression that the game used labels like "overweight" rather than "fat" which is a huge difference in attitude... as I said I don't have it so I could be wrong, but I'd like to hear from someone else who DOES have it before I believe that it's actually calling anyone "fat."
Michelle 5-21-2008 @ 3:59PM
I was under the impression this wasn't aimed at children at all, just like the Wii fitness test. It will not age you any younger than 20 and it says it is not made for children. I would think this would be in the same vein. In that case, wouldn't this fall under user error?
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Nikkie 5-21-2008 @ 6:12PM
So what if the game says you're fat 'overweight', does it force you to play it or not to eat? Its still a persons decision on how to live his/her life. Don't blame it to the game. If Wii fit says you're fat, then leave it as it is and just play the game, if you're bothered by it then its your call....
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Nikkie 5-21-2008 @ 6:15PM
Also, if its a kid then the parents need to guide them about their health and how they would comprehend what the game evaluate them, instead of blaming it to the game.
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Debbie 7-07-2008 @ 12:43AM
Parents - get a life... if your Wii tells your child s/he is overweight and they aren't - explain it to them! It's a game! If your doctor tells you the child is overweight, then listen. Personally, I like it when my wii tells me I'm overweight; it's motivating me to watch what I eat and to exercise more. I'm down 8 lbs. already. A couple more pounds and it will call me normal... I'll try not to let that upset me.
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