Wii Fit Taking Heat for Calling Kids Fat

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
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Not even a month after the Wii Fit hit European shelves, it is already under fire by obesity experts. Experts are concerned that the game can damage children’s body image by labeling them “fat” or “underweight,” based on their Body Mass Index (BMI).

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum called for children to be banned from playing the game, claiming the BMI measurement was misleading… "BMI is far from perfect but with children it simply should not be used. A child's BMI can change every month and it is perfectly possible for a child to be stocky, yet still very fit.”
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What a bunch of crap.
If the kid's fat, let his chubby backside know!
 
its not like they're calling them ugly or something that is a matter of opinion... if they can figure out BMI they're just telling the truth
 
European shelves?
WELL thank GOD they aren't bitching about Americans! I hope it's the Fat Assed French wining this time!
 
Modred189 said:
What a bunch of crap.
If the kid's fat, let his chubby backside know!
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But they're not fat! It's glandular!

They have fat glands.

This politically correct bullshit makes me sad.

But on the other hand, the Japanese are all freakish perverts, I'd prefer not to assign their standards to my kids.

I say we have several dozen lawsuits demanding tens of trillions of dollars for emotional distress which make a lot af headlines when launched, but actually get lol'd out of court fifteen seconds after the judge reads the first page but thet never actually reported so the huge payout for stupid things becomes an urban legend despite no such payment ever having been made or even entertained.

Like always.

Also, you're fat too. Sue me.
 
It it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...

Hey, if the kid's fat, call 'em fat. Maybe that will make motivate them to lose some pounds and slender up.
 
When did someone's confidence become more important than their health? "This kid needs to feel good about himself, even if he's going to be dead by the time he's 40."
 
Yeah -- total crap

If you are fat, I'm going to call your ass fat. Don't like it? Lose some weight fatty.

I know its not here in America - but people need to stop being so politically correct. Maybe the reason everyone is getting so fat is because all this "be nice to everyone" and don't express the truth bullshit has people accepting of fat people or something like that.

If you are 12 years old and have man boobs - something is wrong. Parents are mostly to blame by giving their kids anything they want to eat and not telling them to get the hell outta the house and go play.

I for one will never stop making fun of fat people, why? Because they are fat.
 
First I read about how the U.S. is in grave future danger because of exploding obesity and we are on the verge of a crisis, states having more than 50% of population overweight, places starting to require restaurants to post calorie information on their menus, trans fats eliminated, etc. But now you have to be careful not to call the kids overweight? When just a second ago the rate of children being overweight is described as "alarming"??
 
If the game doesnt call them fat, then the other kids in school will. Also mirrors.

So yeah, lose some weight ya fat fucks.
 
This is not about political correctness, it is about properly applying measures of health. It is fine to call a fat person fat, but BMI does not accurately measure obesity in children.

World Health Organization said:
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify underweight, overweight and obesity in adults.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said:
For children and teens, BMI is age- and sex-specific and is often referred to as BMI-for-age.

...

The BMI-for-age percentile is used to interpret the BMI number because BMI is both age-and sex-specific for children and teens. These criteria are different from those used to interpret BMI for adults — which do not take into account age or sex. Age and sex are considered for children and teens for two reasons:
  • The amount of body fat changes with age. (BMI for children and teens is often referred to as BMI-for-age.)
  • The amount of body fat differs between girls and boys.
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By evaluating BMI based on adult terms, you get useless and incorrect results for children. Thus it makes no sense to call them fat or skinny based on such an evaluation.
 
Synful Serenity said:
First I read about how the U.S. is in grave future danger because of exploding obesity and we are on the verge of a crisis, states having more than 50% of population overweight, places starting to require restaurants to post calorie information on their menus, trans fats eliminated, etc. But now you have to be careful not to call the kids overweight? When just a second ago the rate of children being overweight is described as "alarming"??
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Read the article. The concerns about calling kids "fat" are in Europe, not the US. You are correct: obesity is such an issue in the US that no one would dare criticize a weight-loss product.
 
Why can't we edit posts?

Anyway if you want to understand why a simple BMI calculation does not indicate health in children, see the CDC's page:

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/childrens_BMI/about_childrens_BMI.htm

While it's important to warn children and parents of children who are overweight, it is likewise important to avoid mislabeling and encourage unhealthy habits in the opposite direction for children who aren't fat at all.
 
Omg, ppppppplease!

....um, "truth hurts" I'm sick of all this "PC" and feelings crap...
 
they need to send that shit out here to the US so that you can get those supersized asses doing something beside getting fatter.
 
crap, where's the edit button? =(

Oh, and let's go and give everyone A's, since we wouldn't want the morons to have their feelings hurt as well...
 
crap, where's the edit button? =(

Oh, and let's go and give everyone A's, since we wouldn't want the morons to have their feelings hurt as well...

reminds me of the liberals wanting to tax the rich, so the poor people can have more Medicare & welfare...
 
This is bull. It is as if the child can't fucking do anything about their physique. The same reason these chubbie fucks got that way in the first place was because they couldn't be arsed to get outside. Like shit they can't deal with a little negative reinforcement in doors.
 
when you're 10 and 'stocky' you're fat. when you're 25 and 'stocky' you could have mad muscles and be fit. but not when you're 10
 
fuckin whiners. wtf did you buy wiifit for? to stare at while you eat donuts? should be some damn motivation for your "fat" ass...

geez. i'm obese according to the federal government but you don't see me complaining do you?
 
Torn here ... on the one hand I know BMI is flawed. The only way to really calculate weight/density/fat/muscle, everything basically is to weigh a person under water. Which is not feasible.

On the other hand, as someone who has had weight struggles in the past and who progressed to being an aerobics instructor, amateur bodybuilder then phased into middle eastern (belly) dance, I know how hard it can be to lose the weight, when fat is fat, muscle is muscle and what the difference is. Right now I'm settled in around 115 at 5'5". Not perfect, but as close as I can get given my age and physical problems. I just exercise when I can and watch what I put in my mouth.

A person can be 5' and weigh 140lbs (talking female here). That 140 can be lean muscle. It can also be chubby thighs and a jiggly belly and butt. I for one am sick of seeing fat kids waddling around with their fatter parents.

And the other day I was on the bus with a woman who took up TWO full seats and was sitting there stuffing her face with chips, then cookies, then more chips. UGHHHHHH

Kids these days, alot of them are living off Micky D's or lunchables (disgustings things), twinkies, all sorts of rubbish food. There's no PE in alot of schools anymore due to cutbacks and the parents either don't exercise themselves or aren't forcing their kids to get up off the sofa, put down the video game and go outside and DO something.

Being PC is one thing, and I do try to be polite and PC - but not nearly the way I used to be. Now if someone asks me "am I fat?" ... if they are I say yes.
 
Kiggles said:
This is bull. It is as if the child can't fucking do anything about their physique. The same reason these chubbie fucks got that way in the first place was because they couldn't be arsed to get outside. Like shit they can't deal with a little negative reinforcement in doors.
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The child usually can't. Honestly, most overweight kids don't even realize that it's a big deal. Their PARENTS need to step in and teach them that you don't eat a box of donuts after school, and have KFC for dinner (among other stereotypes :p). Most overweight kids have no idea that they can even change, as the mechanics are, at best, beyond them, and at worst, not important.

deft touch said:
when you're 10 and 'stocky' you're fat. when you're 25 and 'stocky' you could have mad muscles and be fit. but not when you're 10
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Yep. Which is why the BMI IMO, works well for children. Sure, add/subtract 20% for differences in skeletal densities... But, no kid is going to have a ton of muscle mass at 10. Even the most athletic little shits are scrawny as hell, without a single muscle on em.

markt435 said:
fuckin whiners. wtf did you buy wiifit for? to stare at while you eat donuts? should be some damn motivation for your "fat" ass...

geez. i'm obese according to the federal government but you don't see me complaining do you?
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Hahaha. Funniest post I've read all day. Exactly. I needed to be called fat at 10, because, frankly I was. Christ.
 
not saying i really agree with the outrage, i'm willing to bet half the people attacking this are either over or underweight. If you are on hardforum and are healthy and in shape i would think you are probably the minority, or need to stop doing push ups and learn how to fix a server
 
Tell them to quit eating McDonalds or to quit fasting and be done with it. At the rate were going the kids of the future will have all their pain receptors blocked and be in a constant state of pacified self indulgence. Let em feel a little pain, let em fail a couple times, let them learn that the real world isn't all fun and games.

Not everybody is created equal, but we're all equally important.
 
there are a lot of fat ugly ass kids.. they need to be called fat so they feel guilty enough to do something about it
 
WTF? You step on a scale, and see that you are overweight... Guess what? You're overweight. You don't want to know the truth? Don't step on the scale.

If they are fat, they KNOW they are fat. Wiifit aims to help fix that. Kids play games, get fat, eat chips and drink soda, get fatter. At least Nintendo is trying to do something about it. That is why a lot of people buy the Wii, because it is more than just thumb action. I've played some games and been tired afterwards. Moving my arms for so long, over and over... Wow. It's not a workout, but it is more than just twiddling my thumbs. Kudo's for Nintendo.

Now, all the fat kids need to go back to the PS3 or XBox 360 (awesome games, not bashing them), sit in the beanbag chair next to the mini fridge and snack drawer and get back to "work"...
 
Techx said:
there are a lot of fat ugly ass kids.. they need to be called fat so they feel guilty enough to do something about it
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A lot of times they end up feeling like crap so they eat in order to temporarily make themselves feel better. Then it becomes a nice little cycle until they're morbidly obese and need a crane to take them from their house to the hospital.

I don't really mind the so called obesity epidemic. It just means they die sooner and we can temporarily mitigate the problem of world over-population :p
 
Political Correctness is for pussies. That pretty much sums up Europe, New York, and California.
 
Alienraptor said:
This is not about political correctness, it is about properly applying measures of health. It is fine to call a fat person fat, but BMI does not accurately measure obesity in children.



[/LIST]By evaluating BMI based on adult terms, you get useless and incorrect results for children. Thus it makes no sense to call them fat or skinny based on such an evaluation.
Click to expand...

BMI is bullshit for any age. You have to be nearly anorexic to not be labeled at least "overweight" with it. Hell, I know I am overweight, but if I lost enough weight to be listed under "normal" on it, I'd have to not only lose all my fat, but have almost zero muscle mass. I'd be scrawny and worse off.
 
It's kind of amusing how many posters in this thread are just jumping on the bandwagon and have no idea how BMI works. My guess is that most of you don't work out in the gym either, because if you did you'd know every single body builder is morbidly obese according to BMI, and 'overweight' does not mean 'fat.'

Kids don't have muscle like that, but a lot of them grow into it when they hit puberty, especially girls, so it really is inaccurate and possibly not even useful to measure them that way. Yeah, obesity is growing among children but if they're already playing the game, they're probably looking to change that and don't need an inaccurate label to be "motivated" further. It really serves no purpose from the game's standpoint as long as the kids are still playing the game.

The kids who really are fatasses and have shitty parents who feed them McDonalds all week probably aren't the ones playing Wii Fit anyways. I'm not sure how much it costs, but I'm kind of surprised they didn't get super serious and include an electrolysis body fat scale at least for a premium version. Those things can be inaccurate as well, but any kid measured above 30% body fat is obese.
 
If you're young and have a high BMI, it is not because you have a bodybuilder physique...
 
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