by Janet Erwood

One month after it was launched, demand for Nintendo’s Wii Fit has been so high that retailers are having trouble keeping it in stock. If you are lucky, though, a gym near you will have the popular video game that can help you stay fit, or get you in shape.

One that has it is the Lakeland Hills YMCA in Mountain Lakes, where I am a personal trainer. There’s a room specifically designed just for Wii Fit, in addition to other games using the Wii platform and Xerdance. It is geared for kids six and up.  There is a weekly schedule of classes using the Xerdance for aerobic purposes and an instructor who assists with the Wii Fit. The kids can also use the room freely to play any of the Wii games.

The Wii Fit programs are designed to increase fitness and flexibility through a series of video games that can involve strength, aerobics, yoga, and balance. You stand on a balance board (or lay down and put your hands on it for pushups) and watch the screen to perform the same moves as the digital instructor, while our real instructor helps out. The system generates charts and graphs to help you track your progress.

Does it work?

“As far as the medical research there are pros and cons when it comes to the benefits of whether or not the Wii Fit or the Xerdance really works to keep kids active or help fend-off obesity,” says Jim McCrudden, CEO and Director of the Lakeland Hills Y.  “But we tend to think along the lines of the pros, that getting kids to move and putting them into an environment that they know and enjoy just puts them on the right track for future activity and prepares then for learning other exercise programs”

As I watched Joe Heinz, an instructor at the Kids Cardio Arcade, assist some of the kids on the Wii Fit one day last week, everybody was focused on the video and knew which exercise programs they wanted to perform. They all seemed to enjoy what they were doing.

Integrating video technology and physical activity may be the next generation’s solution to inactivity and probably the wave of exercise for the future. If playing a game in front of a video screen is what keeps kids or even adults moving, then I believe Wii Fit can actually work to fend off obesity, and teach that staying physical is important for health and well-being. 

NJ My Way contributor Janet Erwood specializes in stories about fitness and nutrition.