Nintendo’s Wii Can Make You Fit and Make You Dead
Nintendo Wii, what a cruel mistress you are. You giveth and you taketh away. Here’s a pair of articles for your consideration in our gadget-hungry culture of (mostly) fat-asses and (mostly) over the top marketing gimmicks.
This guy lost 9 pounds in 6 weeks enthusiastically playing his Wii. he also managed to knock his BMI from 25.2 to 24 even, and lost almost 2% of his total body fat. He also goes so far as to document his calorie burn in each category of Wii Sport he uses to workout.
- Tennis: 92 calories / 15min.
- Bowling: 77 calories /15min.
- Boxing: 125 calories /15min.
It should be noted that while partaking in each activity he “…played each game fairly aggressively and would perform full swings, move left and right, and not take any breaks.” Unfortunately I doubt that everyone will play this game console with such vigor, but maybe they should. I know there is nothing scientific about this study, but these are numbers it’s hard to argue with.
No wonder The Mayo Clinic endorsed philosophy behind the Wii, if not the product itself…
Which brings us to the other end of the spectrum. The product itself. It is just a product. It can’t solve your problems or make you skinny or anything else you’re not willing to make yourself. And it’s certainly not worth dying for.
On Friday, last week, a Sacramento woman dropped dead after trying to “hold her wee for a Wii” in a local radio promotion. The coroner said she exhibited signs of water intoxication after competing in a radio promotion where contestants were provided with bottles of water every 15 minutes while they attempted to stave off urination.
She left complaining of a terrible headache and crying only to die in her home later on that day. She had been trying to win a Wii for her kids.
This is a tragedy to be sure, but there I’d say there is hardly malice involved. People in the marking sector can hardly turn down a good pun, even one as silly as hold your wee for a Wii. In fact, I’m sure the “punny” and novelty/adolescent humor of the entire ordeal ensured a green light from the stations promoters.
The problem here was ignorance or carelessness of the event organizers. Obviously, water intoxication is just as deadly as dehydration, and it should be taken seriously. Just about anything, in excess, can end your life if you’re not careful. They weren’t careful, a woman died, and they all got canned.