Shock study: Wii Fit alone won't get you into shape (nor is it supposed to, by the way)

Shocking study coming out of the University of Minnesota that says Wii Fit won’t get you into shape, despite what you may think. Well, to be specific, the study says the game won’t produce “significant changes in daily physical activity, muscular fitness, flexibility, balance or body composition.”

The study, which took place over six months, looked at eight families in North America and gave them the game for three months, then took away the game for three months.

It found that families used the game an average of 22 minutes per day.

You’ll recall that Americans watched TV for an average of 18 hours per week, or 2.57 hours per day. Yeah.

That’s the thing: Wii Fit isn’t exactly heavy training, so using it for only 22 minutes per day and changing nothing else about your lifestyle wouldn’t produce any sort of noticeable fitness result. The game is supposed to help train you into the habit of taking in less calories than you burn, how to be conscious of that fact that a hamburger has more calories than a banana, etc.

So use Wii Fit to develop healthy habits, which is what Nintendo has always said the game was about, and not to look like Brock Lesnar or George St. Pierre.

Hard work is hard.