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21 May 2008
Nintendo has admitted that its Wii Fit game may not be suitable for children as its calculations of body mass index are designed for adults.
A row erupted after 11 year-old Tabea Paul was told by the game that she was overweight.
The girl's parents were angered by the suggestion, and have said that the game could have given the child an eating disorder.
"Tabea said that she'd set herself a goal to lose 4lbs within four weeks, and I just said 'No way,'" her mother told the BBC.
"She doesn't need to lose weight. She's slim and tall and she's got a lot of growing left to do. It's things like this that could lead to eating disorders."
Tabea, who at 6st 11lbs and just under 5ft tall is a normal weight for her height, has now stopped playing Wii Fit.
Nintendo said in a statement: "Nintendo would like to apologise to any customers offended by the in-game terminology used to classify a player's current body mass index status.
"The resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development."
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Computer vs Reality
Wii fit is a computer game not a gym. There is no personal trainer with you, no scientific sports development it's just a game. If someone shot you in Grand Theft Auto IV would go to hospital and say "i've been shot"???
Posted by: Anthony 22 May 2008
User Error
This girl must have put her height in incorrectly, misread the results, or the wii balance board is 15Kg out, which seems less likely. The story is all round the net without anyone even checking what she put in and what it said. My daughter is a similar height and weight and her BMI appears at 19ish ("Ideal").
Posted by: John H Woods 21 May 2008
blowing things out of porportion again!
I think this is rediculous! A game is not going to make a child prone to eating disorders. It's so easy to blame the game. It's the same with stating that violent games kill people. It's people with guns, and no amount of games is going to "make you" do it. It's become way too easy for parents to blame everyone else for their incompetance. Why was the 11 year old allowed to play the Wii Fit in the first place? This gamed is aimed at adults, not children. It's the parents who are to blame, NOT nintendo! AND maybe the girl is fat..
Posted by: Bite 21 May 2008
Misleading Title
While I completely understand the issue this article addressing, it is worth noting that the word 'fat' does not feature anywhere in the game. Instead the word 'overweight' is used. While the end result may be pretty much the same, this article makes it sound like the game is basically hurling insults at a child.
Posted by: R.Paton 21 May 2008
Wii Fit
Don't buy it then??!!!
Posted by: Bleedin' Obvious 21 May 2008