Tag: childhood obesity

Sales of Nintendo’s Wii are down and the popularity of the gaming console isn’t as explosive as a few years back (you can now actually find one in stock, and for much cheaper), but the Wii is still name-checked as the first successful console to bring fitness and video gaming together. The Wii Fit accessory and “game” can be found in millions of homes (albeit also collecting dust is many households), and it is frequently referenced in popular culture. Despite the success it has achieved to date in getting people off their sofas, the Wii Fit doesn’t actually deliver the level of intensity a traditional exercise provides.

Never mind all that. Public school officials in Alabama still see the Wii Fit system as a way to combat childhood obesity in the state. The “Wee Can Fight Obesity” program uses the Wii Fit Plus Bundle and EA Sports Active games as a form of exercise three days a week during phys-ed class for third graders. The one-year program is rolled out to 30 schools, and was in 30 different schools the previous year; the goal is to expand the program to every elementary school.

The program puts a different spin on what is exercising. The kids don’t view it as torture in school, but as playing. Children are exercising and shedding pounds without ever thinking of it as physical activity. While the Wii Fit will never offer the benefits of true exercising or activity, it does give kids a positive spin on the dreaded P.E. class. Importantly, the Alabama program recognizes the threat childhood obesity poses and is doing what it can to address the issue.

[Via The Birmingham News: ALABAMA PUBLIC SCHOOL TURNS TO WII TO HELP FIGHT CHILDHOOD OBESITY]