Wii Fit Tells Woman She Has Parkinson's Disease

[Tom Goldman]

Wii Fit Tells Woman She Has Parkinson's Disease

Wii Fit doesn't only keep players slender, it also diagnoses their genetic disorders.

Thanks to Wii Fit [http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Fit-Plus-Balance-Board-Nintendo/dp/B002BSA3EM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294936781&sr=8-1], a UK woman is now aware that she has Parkinson's disease. While playing with her friends, she noticed a few abnormalities, which turned out to be symptoms of the disorder.

54-year-old Julie Wilks says she was pretty good at most of Wii Fit's balance board games, but one in particular stuck out. When she moved to a section of Wii Fit that required even balance, the game told her she was leaning more heavily on her left foot.

"There was a huge footprint on the screen and everyone was joking saying I was doing it on purpose," she told the Sun. What was a joke on that day stuck in Wilks' mind, and she gradually began to notice other subtle symptoms. Typical left-handed behaviors started to become more comfortable as right-handed behaviors.

Six months after being made fun of for her giant Wii Fit foot, and noticing these changes in herself along the way, Wilks went to the doctor to see if there was a cause. Sadly, the cause was serious, as a neurologist diagnosed her with Parkinson's disease.

If it wasn't for Wii Fit, Wilks may not have discovered she had the degenerative nervous system disorder until later in life. "I'm so grateful that I was playing the game that day and that it ended up in my diagnosis," she said. "What an amazing piece of technology."

New gaming devices like Wii Fit might bug the hardcore gamer, but they seem to be doing wonders for humanity. Wii Fit has seen other medical applications [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_227/6760-Waggle-Therapy]. Can Nintendo's Wii Doctor be far behind?

Source: GoNintendo [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3347712/Wii-tells-mum-she-has-Parkinsons.html]

Permalink

 

[WrongSprite]

Wow...and here's me thinking Wii Fit was just a load of rubbish. Fair play to it.

 

[Irridium]

The way the title is worded, I thought the game straight up said "YOU HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASE!" complete with the dancing balance board thats usually on the screen.

Anyway, glad to see she found out.

 

[Legion]

What a lucky woman, although I think this:

New gaming devices like Wii Fit might bug the hardcore gamer, but they seem to be doing wonders for humanity.

May be a little too far.

 

[Timbydude]

I'm happy that she found out, but at the same time it's not like Wii Fit was designed to help people in this way. It was a nice coincidence that worked out for the best, though.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

The way the title is worded, I thought the game straight up said "YOU HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASE!" complete with the dancing balance board thats usually on the screen.

Anyway, glad to see she found out.

This is EXACTLY what I thought...

Interesting to see this worked out for her. I have gained a bit of respect for the Wii

 

[Daemascus]

The doctor will see you now.

"Itsa me, Mario!

 

[Gigaguy64]

The doctor will see you now.

"Itsa me, Mario!

'You have-a Cancer!"
"Radiation treatment will begin right-a-way, letsa go!"
....sorry....i couldn't help it.

OT:This is really cool.
Glad to see she caught this early on.
Keep up the good work Wii Fit!

 

[BadassCyborg]

This is the same game that stated my 12 year old cousin was an overweight 50 year old. It's a crock of shit, along with this story.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

What a lucky woman, although I think this:

New gaming devices like Wii Fit might bug the hardcore gamer, but they seem to be doing wonders for humanity.

May be a little too far.

Is it? Games like Wii Fit are helping people to stay in shape (and given the rate of obesity in this country, that's huge). They have (or are at least working on) "games" that help diabetic kids have a little fun while they track their blood sugar. It makes the long haul of physical therapy more tolerable.

I'm not saying Nintendo needs a Nobel Prize any time soon, but come on. They are definitely making an impact.

 

[Trogdor1138]

That's wonderful, not the Parkinson's part of course, hope she'll be okay

I love the idea of Wii Fit, have still been meaning to try out the game at my girlfriend's. I'm getting EA Active 2 soon to help me lose weight, even Sports Champions on the Move has been helpful in getting me a little more active. These games tap into a good market and help people.

 

[BadassCyborg]

Wii 'Fit' is not real exercise. It's a toy that fools gullible people into thinking their doing some significant exercise when really they are just stepping about waving their arms in a retarded fashion. Sad.

 

[manythings]

Wow...and here's me thinking Wii Fit was just a load of rubbish. Fair play to it.

Either that or the programmers are just assholes.

Wii 'Fit' is not real exercise. It's a toy that fools gullible people into thinking their doing some significant exercise when really they are just stepping about waving their arms in a retarded fashion. Sad.

As opposed to the other 99.9% of exercise products and regimes.

 

[Ancientgamer]

It's an interesting story, but I have a hard time seeing it in the hopeful light portrayed. Parkinson's has a 100% fatality rate and no known cure. It also leaves the victim dysfunctional for the last few years of their life.

 

[Watcheroftrends]

Wow...and here's me thinking Wii Fit was just a load of rubbish. Fair play to it.

Either that or the programmers are just assholes.

Wii 'Fit' is not real exercise. It's a toy that fools gullible people into thinking their doing some significant exercise when really they are just stepping about waving their arms in a retarded fashion. Sad.

As opposed to the other 99.9% of exercise products and regimes.

It doesn't matter how many other companies are selling junk - the Wii fit board still makes people get the false impression that they are staying in shape. If everyone looked at problems the way you've just posted, nothing would ever get fixed.

Also, how are the programmers assholes? The game didn't actually tell her about the disease, it just showed that her balance was off.

You are the definition of an ass-hat. I don't care if you reply because, if your post is any indication, anyone with even the slightest critical thinking skills would make you look very stupid very quickly.

 

[pulse2]

The way the title is worded, I thought the game straight up said "YOU HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASE!" complete with the dancing balance board thats usually on the screen.

Anyway, glad to see she found out.

This is EXACTLY what I thought...

Interesting to see this worked out for her. I have gained a bit of respect for the Wii

Same

I was a little suprised to see it hadn't said that, I was like 'Really? It's that advanced? Oh wait, not quite..."

 

[manythings]

Wow...and here's me thinking Wii Fit was just a load of rubbish. Fair play to it.

Either that or the programmers are just assholes.

Wii 'Fit' is not real exercise. It's a toy that fools gullible people into thinking their doing some significant exercise when really they are just stepping about waving their arms in a retarded fashion. Sad.

As opposed to the other 99.9% of exercise products and regimes.

It doesn't matter how many other companies are selling junk - the Wii fit board still makes people get the false impression that they are staying in shape. If everyone looked at problems the way you've just posted, nothing would ever get fixed.

Also, how are the programmers assholes? The game didn't actually tell her about the disease, it just showed that her balance was off.

You are the definition of an ass-hat. I don't care if you reply because, if your post is any indication, anyone with even the slightest critical thinking skills would make you look very stupid very quickly.

Yeah... you do that...

 

[The Human Torch]

Friend of mine who is a soccer-dad of two has lost 20 kilo's with Wii Fit. He couldn't go to the gym due to the two munch-kins and just did the exercises. Even if I think that the whole Nintendo Wii can be thrown into an active volcano, it does seem to have it's purpose.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

The doctor will see you now.

"Itsa me, Mario!

'You have-a Cancer!"
"Radiation treatment will begin right-a-way, letsa go!"
....sorry....i couldn't help it.

OT:This is really cool.
Glad to see she caught this early on.
Keep up the good work Wii Fit!

I would love to see some more Dr. Mario.

As for a contribution to this thread I've got nothing. I have never used wii fit but it sounds like a great game/ accessory. Even if it isn't legitimate exercise as some of you have pointed out it's getting families together far more effectively than any other mainstream game.

 

[Legion]

What a lucky woman, although I think this:

New gaming devices like Wii Fit might bug the hardcore gamer, but they seem to be doing wonders for humanity.

May be a little too far.

Is it? Games like Wii Fit are helping people to stay in shape (and given the rate of obesity in this country, that's huge). They have (or are at least working on) "games" that help diabetic kids have a little fun while they track their blood sugar. It makes the long haul of physical therapy more tolerable.

I'm not saying Nintendo needs a Nobel Prize any time soon, but come on. They are definitely making an impact.

Really? Just because lot's of people buy them doesn't mean they actually use them. I honestly do not know a single person who has bought the Wii-Fit who actually still uses it.

70% of body shape is down to diet anyway, so it's not going to make that much of an impact. Especially considering the kind of exercise you can achieve on the Wii-Fit is fairly low in intensity, whereas people trying to lose weight tend to require high intensity (interval training, spinning classes, sprinting etc.).