This probably has no chance. There’s 3 claims being made here – that Wii Fit isn’t as good a workout as some other methods, that some people *might* use Wii Fit instead of more traditional exercise and that people may have been injured by not warming up properly.

The first thing that comes to mind is that some of these claims are contradictory. If the device doesn’t encourage people to exercise properly, then how are they exercising enough to injure themselves? The claim about people using Wii Fit instead of the gym is also rather silly – anyone used to exercising will recognise that most of the activities in the game (running and some of the “muscle” exercising excluded) don’t give a major workout, and the focus of the game is in fact on yoga and balance rather than a “traditional” workout. Anyone not used to exercising enough to recognise this isn’t going to get fat because of Wii Fit, but because they don’t exercise anyway.

The claim about not encouraging people to warm up is also wrong. First of all, it doesn’t stress anything at all – it give a list of activities but doesn’t combine them into a “workout”. Since there’s no recommended timing or order to the activities, I don’t see how they can be held responsible for people choosing not to warm up. Not only that, but the follow is the text on the screen that appears when you go to the training mode (where the exercises are):

“Clear the space around you and make sure you warm up before exercising”

That appears *every* time you enter this mode. It’s easily ignored, of course, but I don’t see what else Nintendo could do.

On a side note, I find Wii Fit to be a great motivator for exercise, but I found the game itself a little lacking and boring. I bought a new game, My Fitness Coach, which does give you a complete 15 – 75 minute aerobic workout (you choose the duration) and takes note of certain gym equipment if you own it. It’s a cheap alternative to Wii Fit, and I am very sore right now from yesterday’s workout – give it a go!