I always have this mentality – video games will harm our brains, and adversely affect our health. But my negative perception of games has changed when I stumbled across the ‘surprising’ news of National Health System (UK) endorsing the popular Nintendo Wii Fit Plus. According to report published by UK’s InTheNews, the Japanese game console Nintendo Wii Fit Plus has won permission to use the NHS’s Change4Life logo in its advertising on television and in shops, despite critics and accusations that it shouldn’t play a role in the obesity epidemic.
However, a spokesman for the Department for Health argues that it was not endorsing a video game, but rather an exercise. “Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving,” he said.
The Change4Life programme is a public health programme in the United Kingdom which began in January 2009, organised by the Department of Health. The campaign aims to encourage people in Britain to lead healthier lives, using the slogan “eat well, move more, live longer”.
Nintendo’s Wii Fit is believed to have been the first video game to be ‘endorsed’ by the Department of Health (DoH). The Wii Fit Plus is due to go on sale in the UK on Friday, and according to Nintendo will now feature over 60 exercises.
Wii Fit Plus is the enhanced version of the top-selling game offers a range of new features, along with new exercises, yoga activities and balance games designed to keep workouts fun. For the first time, users can customize their workouts to target specific areas of their bodies or to fill specific intervals of time.