14 DAY TRIAL // There's a good reason why gyms exist, namely that exercising in the living room can lead to serious personal injury and even damage to one's property. The upside of the launch of the Wii Fit is that it managed to get more people exercising and worrying about their weight. The downside is that more and more people are using their living room as the place to set down their Balance Board, and where they begin to try out yoga poses. Which means only one thing: homes are beginning to see the less than appealing effects of rushed movement.
The female-oriented insurance company Sheila Wheels has conducted a study that recently found that 2% of the questioned women damaged an appliance as part of their slimming down routines. It seems that around 20% of the women admitted to suffering at least one minor incident, like bumping into furniture or stepping over the household pet. Some of them even suffered more serious accidents, like bumping their heads against a wall or a piece of furniture.
Sheila Wheels believes that each household suffers around 10 Euros worth of damage each year because of workout incidents, which adds to something like 40 million Euros over one year for all the households in the United Kingdom. This is definitely a pretty big sum, which means that it won't be long before someone starts accusing Nintendo of this damage.
It seems that around 86% of the women interviewed are already using or plan to use a Nintendo Wii and a Balance Board to work out at home. Nevertheless, the classic way of working out, in front of the television with a DVD or tape running, is still more popular than using the Wii Fit. Consequently, while the damage rate might be high, part of it is probably not due to the Wii.
I for one wouldn't be too surprised if soon Nintendo began receiving citations for suits filed by housewives who accidentally killed their favorite cat while getting a yoga pose wrong and slipping off the Balance Board.