Wii Fit: Comparison to Other Fitness Programs

The Wii Fit is Nintendo's promise to revolutionize fitness. With the ability to exercise in your home in a variety of manners, the Wii Fit seems almost too good to be true. For less than $100 (at least during the first week it goes on sale), Wii Fit includes a huge variety of exercises and games. It's like having your very own home gym, only better. It takes up less space than fitness machines, costs less money, and purports to be a lot more fun. Additionally, many places, including Toys R Us, are including discounts to other Wii games that will use the same board.

Exercises that take place on a computer format are not a new thing. About 15 years ago, fitness machines, including stair steppers and treadmills, offered computer games to go along with your conditioning experience. For instance, one stair machine that I remember using included a flight simulator. If you did not walk fast enough, your plane would fall out of the sky. However, these were pretty basic, and utilized technology already in place. Wii Fit is different in that the whole fitness regimen is entirely "virtual."

Although actual exercise will be taking place, no stair machine or treadmill is required. The stair machines and treadmills are too expensive for most people to include in a home gym in tandem with other machines; most people have to decide on one machine or another, either because of cost or because of space. The machines that include games as part of the exercise experience are extremely expensive and impossible to include in the average home gym. Therefore, for those people who would like to start building a home gym, but have found it cost-prohibitive in the past, Wii Fit is a good and viable secondary option. Although it does not provide the same level of anaerobic impact, the aerobic impact is as great (or at least has the potential to be).

Some common weight loss programs are Jenny Craig, Nutrafit and Weight Watchers. These sorts of programs all focus on consumption of food as the primary means to lose weight and become fit. Although exercise is encouraged greatly, these programs use point systems or calorie counting methods to assure that people are successful at their diets.

Wii Fit is substantially different from any of these programs in its focus on exercise. Although the Wii Fit measures Body Mass Index and weight, you will not partake in weigh ins with a group of people. You do not need to count calories. In some ways, this is preferable, in that exciting and fun exercise are likely to increase your overall health, in addition to helping you lose weight. In other ways, the Wii Fit program cannot possibly provide a substitute for the camaraderie and support that programs like Weight Watchers provide. If the goal is overall fitness, a general healthy diet combined with the Wii Fit could be a great program. If serious weight loss is your goal, the Wii Fit likely will not provide everything that you are looking for.

Another way that people become fit is to join a gym. This is one arena where the Wii Fit cannot hope to compete, except in cost and convenience. Most gyms include a huge variety of work out machines. Many have personal trainers that are either included in the membership fees or can be added as an additional cost. Vast majorities provide nutritional information to help you get started on a healthy diet. Although Wii Fit provides this, it is on a limited level. It is, after all, only a machine, so a personal trainer, should one be able to afford it, can provide a great deal more insight into methods of losing weight and getting fit. However, gym memberships can cost quite a bit of money.

Four of the five gyms within walking distance of my home cost more in one month for my family than the Wii Fit costs altogether. The last gym provides so much less than the others and so much less than the Wii Fit provides that it is certainly not worth it. Additionally, the Wii Fit is fun and convenient. Exercise is always easier when you can partake in it in your own home. Since it is on a TV screen and gaming console, the Wii Fit has the benefit of being able to fool you into thinking that you're "only" playing. A gym cannot do that.