GameStop Offends Fatties With Wii Fit Promotion

[MiloP]

Aren't all Americans fat anyway?
...
Only kidding. But yeah, I don't see how that idea seemed like a good one. At all. Even in super Bizzaro World.
But in a way...its not unlike any other game is it? In WiiFit, your goal is to fight fat, yes? So get the staff dressed up as fatties. Same vein, in Gears of War 2, you fight the Locusts, so we get the staff dressed up as Locusts.

The latter seems fine, yes? Then the former should really. But this is the real world, I suppose.

 

[Aardvark]

Wii Fit doesn't make them lose weight through exercise, it uses a technique that children perfected the moment we forced large number of them to occupy a drab concrete compound for the majority of their lives until they hit adulthood. People jump on, do the stupid exercises, then get called a fatty boombalada, a disgusting fatbody and/or a turd dumpling until their ego can't take it and they develop anorexia. That's when the weightloss begins.

I haven't actually played wii fit and don't see myself ever doing it, but I might change my tune if it really does call people turd dumplings.

 

[AngloDoom]

snip

Wow, you must live in Giant Douchebag Land if people openly laugh at other people.

Yeah, I know you were being hyperbolic...still, being anxious about how other people perceive you is something that a person needs to get over if they want to change their lives, it's part of the process of accepting yourself and then making yourself better that's at the heart of getting into shape.

You don't need to think of keeping in shape as a second job, just think of it as a hobby. It feels good, you exercise and afterward you feel better about yourself and your body feels better too.

My girlfriend is a bit overweight, there's always one asshat who makes fun of her when she goes to the gym, pretty much crushing any positive vibe she had and making her not want to work out. Same with working out outside.

The problem with thinking of working out as a hobby is that I have other hobbies I'd rather spend my time on, I could be reading, game designing, researching, writing or playing videogames. Every minute I spend exercising is keeping me from those more enjoyable activities that I already don't have time for, hence making it the same as having another job.

While I am sympathetic that your girlfriend is insulted by people based on her size (lets face it, being called 'fat' burns twice as bad if you're female, most of the time) I cannot help but do a rather arrogant smirk at the second paragraph you wrote. I know exercise and such is boring, hard, and detracts from your other hobbies, but that's what it comes down too; sacrifise.

You cannot say "it's hard being overweight" and then imply the reason you don't do it is because you can't indulge in your hobbies. I'm sorry, I don't mean to attack you in any form but that seems like you're trying to have it both ways. It's either hard being overweight and you do something about it, or you're content to indulge in your hobbies and ignore something which perhaps isn't as harmful as you'd make it out to be if you put video games before it.

I have more sympathy for people who have genuine problems due to being incorrectly labelled 'unhealthy' because of their build or those who, like genetically runs in my family, have thyroid issues or other such mindfuckeries that mess you your hormones. Not trying simply because you can't play that cheap copy of Haze you just purchased strikes me as rather weak-willed.

Hell, you could even just hit a healthy middle-ground, pilates and yoga can help tone fat and lose weight and there are other such activities you can do inside your own home if you feel uncomfortable. If you're that uncomfortable with your weight then there are many institutions, sports, etc that can help you attain your ideal state; but you're going to have to be the one to go out and find a solution that fits you.

Again, I'm sorry if that came across in any way 'lecturing' or causing offence, but I'm on a forum for opinionated people and I felt a tickle at the base of my skull... and offence really wasn't my goal. I'm not lecturing people on 'being fat' - if you're comfortable with yourself then who am I to tell you otherwise? - but on people who say they want change but won't even make the sacrifice necessary to try.

 

[kdragon1010]

Its much easier to make excuses than to actually change your life and start working out. So since its easier for people to remain fat they think its a good idea to get offended instead of actually doing something out thier weight.

 

[Clemenstation]

...more rational behavior of looking past appearance to character itself?

That's what the internet is for.

 

[Rath709]

I don't hate Jews, I just hate Jews who don't do anything to not be Jews. I feel you deserve to be offended into converting.

Tangential much? How is being Jewish a "self-inflicted disability" like morbid obesity?

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

Quite frankly, if you're a morbidly obese person intent on "picking up a cheap copy of Haze", then I feel you deserve to be offended into losing some weight and gaining some perspective.

This is one of the only reasons I insult fat people. I mean if we insult fat people (and look down on them) as a society we're encouraging them to lose weight. For this reason alone I insult fat people, I believe that it'll get them to feel guilty and try to slim down.

But hey thats just my two cents.

And on the ad campaign. Damn that is the ultimate fat burn on a wide scale. I applaud it in its ability to be insulting.

 

[Asehujiko]

The only way wii fit can ever make you thinner is by getting you hospitalized with a sprained or broken ankle and with hospital food being what it is...

 

[Kross]

http://newbie-fitness.blogspot.com/2007/01/stripped-5x5.html

3 hours or so a week, and you'll have noticeable results.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Quite frankly, if you're a morbidly obese person intent on "picking up a cheap copy of Haze", then I feel you deserve to be offended into losing some weight and gaining some perspective.

This is one of the only reasons I insult fat people. I mean if we insult fat people (and look down on them) as a society we're encouraging them to lose weight. For this reason alone I insult fat people, I believe that it'll get them to feel guilty and try to slim down.

But hey thats just my two cents.

And on the ad campaign. Damn that is the ultimate fat burn on a wide scale. I applaud it in its ability to be insulting.

Not really. Most fat people eat because something is making them feel empty, and they're trying to fill that emptiness. Low self-esteem from being fat is only making them feel more empty, making them want to eat more, so they get more fat, and feel more empty, and so-on, so forth. Insulting a fat person solves nothing, in most cases it simply exasperates things.

But, I find people who think like you tend to refuse to be swayed. Fat people are fat because they're lazy and greedy, right?

 

[Ace of Spades]

I'm a bit overweight, but no one ever says anything to me about it because I stand 6 feet 3 inches tall, and I actually made someone turn tail and run away by frowning at them.

 

[Alone Disciple]

1) People in the gym are mean as fuck, they laugh at you.
2) People on the street are mean as fuck, they laugh at you.

So... you go to the gym, get made fun of for being a fatty working out, go for a run, people laugh at you for being a fatty working out.

Gezuz...what gym are you a member of?

While I will assume there are indeed some sensitive people out there, I don't think I ever ran into a person at a gym who scoffed and lampooned an overweight person for getting into a gym in the first place and attempting to work out.

Of course it isn't easy, nor is it fun...but seriously, if you're a prat to begin with and make fun of people who are in a gym doing their best to lose weight after they recognize they are out of shape, I'd be more appalled at that person than the out of shape person.

Seriously, are there really 'mean' people hanging out at gyms making fun of overweight people? That seems like an extreme behavior. Most gyms I've been too, people are the exact opposite...they want to help people do exercises correctly and help push them to succeed.

If you find yourself at one of these 'other' gyms, I suggest your quit your membership and find one that is populated by 'real' people.

I for one guess I'm in the minority here....I don't think Gamestop is too much out of line. They are addressing the white elephant in the room that everyone is afraid to confront. They aren't berating people or beating them over the head...they're pointing out a somewhat realistic stereotype that too many gamers are complacent at being a couch potato and sitting on their arse for hours at a time.

If you can't go the gym for being afraid of being mocked (which I still see as highly unlikely), and can't go out on the street for the same fear, and decide that the world wins so you lock yourself in your living room with and won't exercise at all...I think you have much bigger problems than being overweight.

EDIT: Myself, I'm no spring chicken (38) and am quite aware of other health related issues that people have a hard time controlling. Myself....I hate aerobic exercise...I detest it. I hate running period, and sitting at the gym cycling away in a stationary position is a fricken chore in my opnion....but once I bought a PSP and a good game, my 30 minute bike rides seem like 5 minutes. I also personally suffer from high-cholesterol...more a genetic trait...than it is a diet of chicken wings and chips.

I bought a Wii Fit for the sheer purpose of spending 20 minutes in my living room after a 10 hours work day (who the hell wants to go to a gym after they just sat in 40 minute commute of traffic after working over 8 hours?). Now I admit I don't do it every day, but the in the short amount of time I've had the Wii Fit, my cholesterol level have indeed gone down, to the point I can get off medication (and I weigh 230 lbs at 5'11"...not fat)...and the thing is, I figure without the Fit, I probably would make excuses not to work out and raise my aerobic levels at all. I also recall reading a story a few months back on a woman who actually did lose over 50+lbs over the course of 6 months by sticking to a Wii Fit regime 4x a week, 30 minutes a day. So apparantly it works for some.

 

[antipunt]

Angry snip

snip

I'm really not sure where you two are coming from. I was giggling as I read this because the whole thing smells of a "tee-hee, Gamestop are pillocks" angle rather than a righteous fury one.

not worth the time to write this column

But it is worth the time to reply to it?

Hypocrite.

Log in thine eye, brother.

mmmm..
can you please make sense?

edit: actually n/m; just stay that way. I change my mind. you're probably fat and/or ravingly mad at me just b/c I said I didn't like the article.

 

[Sasha Janre]

Okay, obvious ethics/tact issues and all that aside, that picture is made of win.

Employee: CHEST BUMP
Customer: CHEST BUMP
Other Employee: YAAAAAY!

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

Why it's hard for an overweight person to lose weight...

1) People in the gym are mean as fuck, they laugh at you.
2) People on the street are mean as fuck, they laugh at you.

So... you go to the gym, get made fun of for being a fatty working out, go for a run, people laugh at you for being a fatty working out.

I know all the people under 20 won't understand this but...IT'S FUCKING HARD TO LOSE WEIGHT, I'm only a bit overweight myself, but it's damn hard to lose this stuff once it's there. I barely have any time to myself as is. Pack in the fact that food is one of the few things you can enjoy at work that relieves stress and bam, think about it.

Keeping in shape is like a second job, a job I don't want. Granted I don't get ostricized for my weight, I just look in the mirror and dispair. Similarly if you have a good metabolism... shut the hell up, we can't all burn calories by eating you know.

I know like five people that are all skinny as hell and eat twice as much as me at any meal and most of them never excercise at all. It is so annoying.

 

[Erana]

This is worse than the Korean Nazi ad campaign...