UK Government Backs Wii in Schools
I doubt Jamie Oliver had anything to do with this.
For me, PE at School meant Dodgeball, Tennis, Football, and Rugby. Things have changed. The UK Government has formally endorsed the use of Nintendo’s Wii in Physical Education lessons.
We reported two weeks ago that a PE teacher in America had bought seven Wiis to introduce into his lessons. Some thought he was mad, others were jealous they weren’t still at school. However, he wasn’t the only sports teacher to have the brain wave.
A Wii initiative has been carried out in Worcestershire, England, where five schools in the region have boasted positive heart rate-quickening results to The Daily Mail:
“The use of computer games to increase physical activity levels and raise attainment to some would seem contradictory, but with rigid structures in place and by using specific games students soon found themselves being active and engaged almost without realising it,” enthused a spokesperson for the initiative.
The Government has now endorsed proposals to stretch the use of the Nintendo Wii into PE lessons nationwide. This is contrary to a study in the British Medical Journal that stated there was only a 2% increase of calories lost while playing the active Wii, compared to playing an Xbox 360. Who said twiddling your thumbs didn’t make you thin?
Although the Government’s decision is pleasing after the Buzz School Quiz Game was ridiculed, shouldn’t money be put into sports equipment and facilities instead of consoles? Is playing Wii in PE the right message for obese children, especially when this activity is of “insufficient intensity to contribute towards recommendations for children’s daily exercise” (British Medical Journal).
A Department of Health spokesman had this to say on the subject: “We welcome the positive impact that innovations like these can have as a first step towards getting people to participate in a range of physical activities and to enjoy the many benefits of an active lifestyle.”
An active lifestyle is the key, because being the 3rd fattest country in the world, the UK needs to get off its backside.
Source: MCV
Image: BBC
