Obesity experts condemn Nintendo's Wii 'Fit' game after it tells 10-year-old girl she's fat

Last updated at 12:17 16 May 2008

Fair play? One of Ninetendo's marketing images for the Fit game depicting a young player

Obesity experts today slammed Nintendo after its Wii Fit game told a 10-year-old girl she was fat.

They fear the game could damage children's body image and called on the company to warn parents it is not suitable for their offspring.

The £69 game, which sold out within hours when it went on sale in Britain last month, uses an electronic "balance board" to monitor a player's weight.

Once the player has entered their height, the game uses BMI, a measure of body fat based on an adult's height and weight, to calculate their level of obesity, placing them in categories such as "underweight" and "fat".

Players can then be guided through yoga exercises or play games to improve their balance.

However, a father from the South-East spoke today of the embarrassment when his stepdaughter played the game and was labelled fat.

"She is a perfectly healthy, 4ft 9in tall 10-year-old who swims, dances and weighs only six stone," said the father, who did not want to be named for fear of embarrassing the girl further.

"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.

Scroll down for more...

Potentially damaging: the BMI chart that appears on screen during the Ninendo Wii game

"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."

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum called for children to be banned from playing the game, claiming the BMI measurement was misleading.

"I'm absolutely aghast that children are being told they are fat," he said.

"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.

"I would be very concerned if children were using this game and I believe it should carry a warning for parents."

Nintendo said today it would not be placing a warning on the game.

A spokesman said: "Nintendo would like to apologise 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."

Print this article

Read later

Email to a friend

Share this article:

Add your comments View all

Comments (37)

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?

Solidly built means just that - solidly built, usually quite muscular and fit. My children were solidly built. They haven't got an ounce of fat on them, are extremely fit and sporty and eat healthily. Skinny seems to be the only acceptable body shape nowadays to some shallow people. This so called obesity epidemic is fascist media hype. Only about 10% of children are truly overweight. Judgemental idiots make me so angry. I am sure that once again, my common sense response will be ignored. By the way, curvy is a good thing as well, NOT an euphemism for fat!

- Nicki, Southampton, 16/5/2008 15:59

I do not see there being any problem with children being told they are fat. If more children are told this maybe they'll spend less of their time stuffing turkey twizzlers down their faces and more time playing sports and enjoying lettuce.

- Nicki, Southampton, 16/5/2008 15:52

BMI is an inaccurate measure of whether someone is overweight, it takes no account of bone structure and muscle growth. It's useless in many cases.

- Kacee, UK, 16/5/2008 15:48

**yourComments**

- **name**, **townAndCountry**, **creationDate**

View all