Do you Wii?

I’ve been a fan of the Nintendo gaming system since the release in 2004. The concept of a video game that gets people moving is ingenious since video games receive criticism for keeping people sedentary.

Now, the Wii was not the first game to make people work up a sweat, but it is the most versatile.

It has tennis, baseball, jogging and step aerobics, all designed to get the heart pumping and the body moving.

Prior to the Wii, Dance Dance Revolution, a game with a floor pad coordinating with arrows on the screen, made me work up a sweat, but after a few games, I would get bored.

Blame it on my lack of DDR, as the gaming connoisseur call it, but I just couldn’t get too excited about the game.

But skills aside, I can get excited about this: six schools in the state will weave games of Wii Fit into the physical education curriculum for the next eight weeks.

Sophia P. Kingston is the only school in the Selma City or Dallas County systems to be a part of the pilot “Wee Can Fight Obesity” campaign, a statewide initiative conducted by Alabama State University to promote health and fitness through use of the Wii Fit Plus Bundle gaming software.

The campaign is a study led by the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department at Alabama State University. It will compare pre and post body mass indices of students in the third grade to see if integrating the game will physically make students healthier.

Students will use the games at least once a week and on rainy days, said Principal Robert Carter.

All $1600 worth of equipment is on loan to the school thanks to Alabama Sports Festival Inc. The school has a console, Wii Fit Plus Bundle, EA Sports Activity, projector, screen for the projector, speakers, nunchucks and 30 balance boards for the students to use.

For a generation accustomed to technology, the campaign is the perfect. Many of these students probably have these systems at home, or know a friend with the system. If using the games at school excites them to play other games at home, then it has made an impact.

With or without the game system, the purpose is to get students moving. I look forward to the results from the campaign. Wii your hearts out, Sophia P. Kingston.

Laura Fenton is the education and general assignment reporter for the Times-Journal. She can be reached at 410-1744 or laura.fenton@selmatimesjournal.com.