Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ – Experts Call For Parental Warning (and even a ban)

59 Comments for “Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ – Experts Call For Parental Warning (and even a ban)”

1. Television Spy | May 20th, 2008 at 9:45 am
   

   Honestly that’s insane, it’s just a game firstly. And secondly, the girl must be very touchy to get upset about that.

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2. Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ | Aggravated Gamers | May 20th, 2008 at 10:52 am
   

   [...] balance board had the audacity to call a young girl ‘fat’ that’s exactly what’s happened.read more | digg story Share: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]

3. Lachlan | May 20th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
   

   Looks like the family just wanted Nintendo to send them a sorry basket of goodies. I mean seriously, it does strike me as a tiny bit retarded, not that the Wii Fit board would call them that.

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4. Andrew Tingle | May 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
   

   lol, you’re spot on Lachlan. I mean, I took an IQ test online today and it had the audacity to call me ’stupid’. I think I might write to the Daily Mail too (I’m not ’stupid’, I’m just a little ‘dim’).

   To think we have people who have survived these earthquakes and so on living through all this (their relatives, sons, daughters being pulled out from the rubble in body bags) and yet some machine calls a girl ‘fat’* and its considered news. Its absurd to the point of being vagule surreal.

   *we are yet to see Wii Fit term anyone as ‘fat’ hence the use of inverted commas in the post.

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5. Your title here - Just another WordPress weblog » Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ | May 20th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
   

   [...] balance board had the audacity to call a young girl ‘fat’ that’s exactly what’s happened.read more | digg story This entry is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry [...]

6. Richard Howes | May 20th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
   

   Well I am bordering on obese according to my Wii Fit. Not that it actually called me obese but it does say “Ow!” every time I step on it.

   Still, if the board is truthful, and it hurts, maybe it will provide motivation to lose some weight and improve your health and well being, and after all, itsn’t that the goal.

   Truly amusing.

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7. Andrew Tingle | May 20th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
   

   Hi Richard, many thanks for taking the time to comment.

   Interestingly its saying that I’m my ideal weight when I know for a fact that I am underweight (badly so, actuallly) but, regardless, I know whether I am happy (or not) with what I look like and so is the wife. The Wii Fit is there to offer motivation and inspiration should one not only need it, but be looking for it (hence having brought the thing in the first place).

   I cannot recall the last time, say, I was pwned by someone online in a game but I think I took it fairly well (as well as you can being blasted in the back of the head by a 10 year old, lol). To me, if you feel that sensitive about your weight – not aimed at you, Richard, just a turn of phrase – then getting something like Wii Fit is surely kind of asking for it, isn’t it?

   From another perspective I know that some of the best improvements I’ve made in my life/to my character have been due to critisism or, at the very least, feedback. I haven’t necessarily agreed in full with such feedback, but, when I feel there is is good reason, I make changes. Thats life (or at least a large part of it) as I understand it.

   On a closing note. I often don’t tike what the mirror ‘tells’ me either but I cannot recall ever wanting to write to a tanloid about it being unnecessarily cruel (an, boy, can it be lol).

   In short, Richard, I agree with you 100%.

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8. N B | May 20th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
   

   So, she has a BMI of 18.1 (which is close to unhealthily thin) and the machine called her “fat”. I see three possibilities:

   1. Someone entered incorrect numbers into the height and/or weight fields.
   2. There is a programming error in the Wii Fit.
   3. It is a false claim by the family.

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9. neednewbed.com | May 20th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
   

   fat girls are so moody!

   get over it, eat less, work out more, and maybe you will be less fat, or you will learn to live with it

   Banning a nintendo wii for calling your daughter fat? talk about shooting the messenger

   [Reply]

10. Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ · Acne Care | May 20th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
    

    [...] balance board had the audacity to call a young girl ‘fat’ that’s exactly what’s happened.read more | digg story « Redneck High Art Taxidermy: The Deer Butt [...]

11. Dave | May 20th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
    

    Wii fit never calls anyone “fat” only “overweight”.
    Propper BMI scale:
    http://www.weightcontroldoctor.com.au/uploads/Image/BMI.jpg

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12. Mohamud Omar | May 20th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
    

    How did this make news? It’s a video game for god’s sake. wii fit is released on the same month as GTA IV and it displaces a stark contrast between the two games. Honestly would you rather your child play a game filled to the brim with curse words drug use prostitution and murder, or would you rather your child play a game disigned to improve their fitness, even if it calls her fat? I thought so

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13. Spyder | May 20th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
    

    HAHA! This is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! Evidently she can’t be in all that in shape. If they don’t like it then get rid of the game or lose some weight porker!

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14. homey p | May 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
    

    you know what, if your fat, YOUR FAT. if someone doesn’t like being called fat or overweight or obese, then maybe they should get off their behind and go run

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15. Sean G | May 20th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
    

    what on earth is “6 stones” ? if she’s 10 years old, and 100 lbs, she’s fat.

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16. Not an antique | May 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
    

    Other than 80% of the UK, nobody else in the world knows what a ’stone’ is. (At least for a standardized measurement of weight.)

    Try sticking to something actually taught in schools, like Kilograms (kg) or even the archaic but more comprehensible Pounds (lb).

    Remember, if you are posting news on the internet, it’s going to be read by more people than just ‘Bob down the street at the Fish & Chips shop’…

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17. Craig | May 20th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
    

    Dude, you’re complaining about your wife working out? Sounds like you need to get your priorities in order. Many men would be jealous.

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18. Ben | May 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
    

    A stone is a unit of mass = 14 pounds
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_(mass)

    That makes her 84 pounds. Maybe up to 98 since the father probably rounded down.

    Based off http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ thats a BMI of 18.2 to 21.2 and
    # Underweight = <18.5
    # Normal weight = 18.5-24.9

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19. Andrew Tingle | May 20th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
    

    Thanks for the feedback. Firstly, good point about providing the weight in stones, taken on board. Secondly the part about my wife working out was meant in jest (rest assured my priorties are in order my friend).

    [Reply]

20. LOL: Wii Fit Calls Girl Fat - Zelda Universe Forums | May 21st, 2008 at 2:49 am
    

    [...] Wii Fit Calls Girl Fat Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ – Experts Call For Parental Warning (and even a ban) » … Basically, a "horrified" family wants Wii Fit banned because it called their "big [...]

21. Quenlin | May 21st, 2008 at 2:53 am
    

    Stone = 14lbs, 6 stone = 84lbs.

    100? Learn math.

    [Reply]

22. reed | May 21st, 2008 at 3:53 am
    

    Don’t do the drug deal! Roman will get [REMOVED DUE TO LONG LIST OF SPOILERS]

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23. TiKiMaN1 | May 21st, 2008 at 8:39 am
    

    Geez…I knew this was going to happen. O well. The truth has the potential to hurt sometimes. BMI is not the perfect measurement, but it is still pretty good.

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24. gamesplayer | May 21st, 2008 at 2:33 pm
    

    Wii fit is not very accurate for children. Its just a game! don’t take it so serious dude.

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25. You're 'Fat', says the Nintendo Wii - VolNation | May 21st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
    

    [...] ‘Fat’, says the Nintendo Wii Wii Fit Dares to Call Young Girl ‘Fat’ – Experts Call For Parental Warning (and even a ban) » … [...]

26. Brad | May 21st, 2008 at 10:24 pm
    

    I want to see A picture of the girl. She is probable fat and it is finally telling her the truth!

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27. JethLordMaster | May 21st, 2008 at 11:28 pm
    

    Hey little girl, guess what? If you’re pathetic enough to cry over a video game simply telling the truth, you give kids and gamers all over the world a bad name. Get over it fatty, and learn not to be an oversensitive little whiner. How did a story this ridiculous even gain mention?

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28. Craig | May 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 am
    

    The bit that made me laugh is the bit about how the obesity experts want the wii fit banned. Some people need a good slaping back to real life.

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29. Paul A | May 22nd, 2008 at 3:32 am
    

    HAHA thats insane, it’s just like i was reading on RedvsBlue.com where one of their founders says “Big deal. My Xbox 360 called me a “fucking dickhead” while playing GTA IV. Sounds like fattie needs to man up. ” and thats the thing who cares Wii is a childrens game and besides think about all those trainers and other people(including friends) who call you fat i dont see any other fat people getting in the news because their gym trainer called them fat

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30. Mechwarrior5 | May 22nd, 2008 at 4:35 am
    

    It’s made in Japan of course it’s going to think she’s fat

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31. Wii Fit Review | Cole Ferrier | May 22nd, 2008 at 6:43 am
    

    [...] Outrageous Article Calling For A Ban. [...]

32. Carver4006 | May 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 am
    

    This is obviously an attempt to get money (probably for more wii games) because only a child would really get this upset over something like this.

    Its called the Wii Fit. Of course its gonna call you fat, its used for losing weight isn’t it?

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33. Fun Link Friday » Games News and Reviews » Binary Joy | May 23rd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
    

    [...] A young girl in the UK has been called fat by Wii Fit. the Daily Mail are calling for children to be banned from the game, and parents to be warned. Personally I think that childrens self images are becoming warped enough by culture (thin models and celebrities etc) but banning a game because of this? That’s bit over the top! [...]

34. Keese | May 23rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
    

    Boohoo. So a game called you fat, get over it. People are too easily offended these days.

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35. Kajex | May 24th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
    

    The fact that somebody got this game for this kid MIGHT be indication that she needed to shave off a few pounds. Unless they’re calling you Ms. Jupiter Fatcells or limericking about how you can’t get through the kitchen door, then you’re not really entitled to have a “BAAAAWWWW” moment to yourself.

    That said, the fact that this game DOES use Body-Mass-Index is unsettling, particularly because the system itself is not accurate. Perfectly fit people could register as “overweight”.

    Simply put, there’s no grounds for a lawsuit- Nintendo isn’t making fun of you, and it didn’t invent BMI to call you fat.

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36. Kajex | May 24th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
    

    Also, Andrew Tingle brings up a good point- does that mean we can sue the makers of Brain Age and Big Brain Academy for calling you stupid? If that were possible, then the makers of “You Don’t Know Jack” would have been put on death row.

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37. Ace | May 25th, 2008 at 2:57 am
    

    If you are offended by being called fat(and you are) then lose some f***ing weight.

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38. Battisti | May 26th, 2008 at 7:07 am
    

    Ugh.

    It states in the instruction manual that while it can be used between ages 2-19, the BMI would most likely be off since they are still constantly growing.

    In addition to that the main “overall” fitness measurement wii fit uses is the wiifit age… and how closely that age is to your real age. That uses your height / weight in addition to a handful of tests it has you perform. All in all that “wiifit age” is what to keep an eye on.

    As mentioned above it also doesn’t call anyone fat… fat is more or less a derogatory term. It calls people underweight / fit / overweight / obese… which are clinical terms based on your BMI. which you dont need to have the game do in order to play it.

    So it didn’t call her fat, it told her she was overweight based on their height she input and her weight the balance board read… which she most likely is.

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39. Lachlan | May 27th, 2008 at 4:39 am
    

    Well, if hearing bad news is worthy of news reports and legal action, seems like every doctor who gives an STD report is in some trouble.

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40. Weekly Weigh-In #10 « 200by40 - A Weight Loss Blog | May 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
    

    [...] Fit is turning out to be a fun purchase despite the naysayers and parents who get offended when it calls their snowflakes fat. But even with the fun factor, I’ve learned a few things (the first two being from a previous [...]

41. Bobo Da Hobo | May 27th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
    

    For those of you that don’t know the whole story It was a girl from England that was a very fit and by “solidly build” meaning muscular individual who was playing wii fit with her friends and the game put up on the screen that she was fat and her friends laughed and made fun of her and when she got home she felt so bad that she told her mom that she wanted to go on a diet. Now for those of you that think this just a girl trying to get money or something I feel that that is wrong and that all she wanted was for Wii to change the game language and maybe change the game so that it is more accurate with the BMI cause a 10 year old girl who exercises regularly shouldn’t be called fat based on weight because of her age and growing

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42. Jeremy Webb | May 29th, 2008 at 12:06 am
    

    To be frank I am highly dissapointed at a lot of the comments to this article. I am a lover of games but a lot of you have displayed the same level of ignorance the mainstream press seems to use when talking about our past time. for a start the girl in question is not fat as a previous poster has stated but rather muscularly built. BMI is a notoriously poor indicator of fitness, also all those saying she should just get over it because its only a game obviously does not understand the psychology of a ten year old girl. Im not saying the game should be banned but this is am important issue that should not be so simply dismissed

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43. Kajex | May 30th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
    

    @ Jeremy and Bobo

    BMI is notorious for being a poor indicator of fitness, but there are far worse things to consider besides the fact that a video game labeled a kid as scientifically overweight- which she technically was, given that her muscle mass provided more weight than is average for a kid her age and height.

    If you’re REALLY going to squeal like a stuck pig about something like this, I’d hate to hear the kind of bawling you’d get over a game that really DOES make fun of you- like Sinistar, Sea-Man and You Don’t Know Jack.

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44. Jman | May 31st, 2008 at 3:01 am
    

    Okey I understand that she might not be fat or somthing but she and her parents shouldn’t be complaining to the presses and stuff. People are called fat in school in public places and everything else. And they’re complaining about a game calling her fat. If she isn’t fat well okey then why is there a complaint. second why do you care what a video game says it’s just a game. Go out in the real world it’s worse than being called fat. When I say that I mean places that are starving and stuff.

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45. jon | June 17th, 2008 at 7:17 am
    

    The Wii should have yelled “get off me FAT A**”
    look face it if your fat your fat ——dont buy the game unless you intend to lose weight. A bunch of freakin wusses here.

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46. Lachlan Mcgrigor | November 6th, 2008 at 10:15 am
    

    Weird calling a 38.1kg 10 year old girl fat, that’s just about average. BMI measures height and weight, not muscel mass, which is heavy. The reason it called her “Fat” is because cause she swims and dances, she would have a lot of muscle, making her heavier.
    But seriously, come on! Cry me a river. How can that make the news? People are such drama queens these days!

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47. OkAngeLnTx | November 8th, 2008 at 6:11 am
    

    Ok here it goes… I have a wii fit as well and it said, ”That’s overweight” when it measured me. My husband looked and the thing and laughed. ”He said for the money we spent, the damn thing isn’t very smart!” I have muscular legs and arms from riding horses my entire life. I mean shit,if they all get upset over this then I’d hate to see her or the rest of the family if someone called her ugly. Or heaven forbid it if she ever gets into a fight with one of her friends! Hell sue the other kids parents… cause her friend said she was dumb and took her doll and went home! Or RED ALERT!!! Her first boyfriend tells her she kisses like a fish or slobbers or that she can’t kiss at all. Would you take a dentist to court for saying the kid needs braces cause her teeth are crooked?!? Life hapens. It’s not the boards fault how it’s programed.
    Look at the stickers… It says READ THE BOOK FIRST!!!

    I’m suing… LMAO

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48. Andrew | November 9th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
    

    Yes, its all a bit much. You’re right, in life this girl’s going to have to harden up a bit. i mean only yesterday I was told I had a big head but I’ve measured it several times, and I just cannot see thats its any bigger than anyone elses.

    I am, of course, considering having it cut off to save me from such comments in the future but I’m concerned that that’ll make my neck look unusually stubby.

    As for you being a horse rider. I’ve met a few in my time (and dated one once way back – the memory of which brings a smile to my face for some reason ) and I personally would never dream of calling one overweight as, in my experience, they can very much hold their own. The Wii Fit is braver than I (and/or doesn’t quite have the memories I have).

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49. Wii Fit | November 19th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
    

    I guess they can simply update the software to show different messages to users under a certain age.

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50. courtney | December 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 am
    

    she is 84 pounds and 4′9″ which gives her a bmi of 18.2. normally that would be considered underweight. but an ideal bmi for a girl that is 10 is anywhere between 14-20. so it is at the higher end.

    bmi tables in my nutrition school books use 17.4 as a reference bmi for children 7-13 years old.

    still this girl isn’t overweight and bmi charts aren’t as accurate for people who are athletes.

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51. Trina | December 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
    

    We got the Wii Fit about 6 months ago and my whole family set up our wii person. My husband, son and daughter are all very thin and their wii persons were thin. I was considered over weight (which I was) and my wii person was fat compared to the rest of the family. This actually motivated me to loose weight and get to the normal BMI which I have. I believe that if it wasn’t for the wii to make me realize how FAT I was, I would have never lost the weight to get down to normal weight. Now my wii person is no longer fat…..It is a great GAME and exercise helper.

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52. DSi console | February 3rd, 2009 at 8:43 am
    

    Stop complaining about your wife working out. Maybe you should

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53. BlueDarkness | February 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am
    

    The only reason anyone would be called fat on Wii Fit is either because they are fat, or because they have too much muscle. That’s why I’m right inside “normal” rather than in the middle.

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54. Me | February 14th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
    

    Jesus Christ If everyone was that pathetic as to make a big fuss over a game then imagine what the world would be like? America? sueing everyone? im a bit underweight which the wii board sais i am and i dont cry to everyone because it called me that? and persides it wouldn’t of called her fat it would of called her “overweight” another example of her family trying to milk it a bit more.

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55. Nintendo DSi In Stock | February 20th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
    

    This actually happened with my brother’s daughter very recently. She was a little upset at first, but in the end she laughed it off. Still, it’s pretty shortsighted of Nintendo I think – especially as they’re such a family friendly company!

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56. DSI stock | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
    

    Guys, stop taking it all so seriously. It is just a game. Remember Duke Nukem from years ago, that used to call you a wimp when ever you wanted to log off. I mean come on.

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57. Jeremy | March 31st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
    

    And we wonder why girls are becoming anorexic with people calling them “porkers” and telling them to just “get off their asses”. Being a recovered victim of chubbiness myself (Yes I did “get off my fat ass” so I can afford to talk), I would like to ask people whether they know the incredible psychological harm they inflict on someone when they call someone “fat”. You could could be actually turning you’re life around and then suddenly someone calls you that and you almost give up or worse yet become desperate and sacrafice you’re health to get skinny. There were periods when I would starve myself for days out of shame and only after I learnt to block out the hate could I successfully become a new person. So in short we should be encouraged, not criicised.

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58. Wii Fit Plus | July 7th, 2009 at 11:24 am
    

    Its just a game, I mean professional athletes stand on this and it tells them they are fat, but thats only because muscle weighs more than fat and clearly it cant detect the difference.

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59. Wii Fits into CFS exercise plan | August 10th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
    

    [...] obscenities at your trainer if he or she chides you afterwards. However, if you think you may be overly affected by the scoring in the game, or its assessment of your body type (using the inaccurate BMI), then [...]

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