Nintendo's New Wii Fit Video Game Criticized For Labeling Kids "Fat"

London, England (AHN) - A popular video game was condemned by obesity experts after calling a 10-year-old girl "fat."

Nintendo's Wii Fit is a game intended for busy people and for families who want to enjoy toning down at the comfort of their homes. It includes yoga exercises and other games that may help improve the balance of the player.

The game uses a "balance board" to monitor the player's weight. As soon as the player enters his height, the game will then use BMI, or the Body Mass Index which is a measure of body fat based on the height and weight of a person. His level of obesity is then calculated and he will be categorized as "underweight" or "fat."

Despite positive feedback from many people, a father from the South-East said that his stepdaughter was embarrassed when she played the game and was labeled fat. He said that she is perfectly healthy, solidly built but not fat. It caused her devastation and he and his wife had to work hard to convince her that she wasn't fat.

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said that children should not be allowed to play the game because its BMI measurement was misleading. According to him, BMI should not be used with children because their BMIs can change every month. He said that the game should carry a warning for parents.

According to Nintendo, they will not put a warning on the game. Its spokesman said in a statement that Nintendo sends its apologies to any customer offended by the game. Wii Fit is still capable of measuring the BMI for people between two and 20. However, the results may not be accurate for young players because their levels of development vary.