Seniors use Wii to help meet exercise goals

BY ALDRICH M. TAN • of The Northwestern • July 2, 2008

Bernice Tulip never cared much about video games. Some of them were too violent, she said.

That’s until she started playing the Nintendo Wii with her friends Doris Kasarsky, 74, and Pat Maher, 59, at Heritage Court retirement community.

The group’s favorite game is the WiiSports’ bowling game and Tulip, 86, is very good at this game.

Tulip stood up as she took the controller. “And so, I gotta push this gizmo down.”
She slowly swings the controller. Her ball goes straight toward the pins slowly and knocks them all down.

“My score has never looked this good,” she said.

Tulip and her friends are part of a trend of senior citizens jumping on the Nintendo Wii’s video games with the purpose of staying fit.

Phyllis Lee, a specialist in senior care for the Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh, said the Nintendo Wii is leading this trend by creating games that are much more interactive. The console is providing games that emphasize exercise, compared to the games that require mostly pushing buttons.

“Many don’t get out very much, so these games give people the idea that they are some place other than their home,” she said. “This brings the outside in.”

Lee advises seniors who are considering buying the console to go to the store and try it out first. If the console is for a nursing home, supervision during the first time playing it is important.

Pat Maher bought a Nintendo Wii for her grandchildren with her tax refund. It looked like a lot of fun, so she also bought one for herself and her friends at the Heritage Court retirement home.

She invited her friends to play it in her apartment. Then they decided to bring the console down to the basement so everyone could try it out.

The ladies play WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Wii Sports, Wii Play, and are looking at getting Wii Fit — games that specifically encourage exercise. After bowling, Maher plays a stamina-training program.

She turns on the tennis game and swings her right arm. In the game, she has to hit 50 balls.

Maher said the game takes her back to playing softball in her youth.

“Oh! Gotcha! Oh! Gotcha!” Maher said as she swings at each ball with her controller.
Kasarsky said she also gets regular exercise by walking outside. That’s an important thing for senior video game players to still do, Lee said.

“Video games can never be a replacement for exercise, but I think it is another option for them to use,” she said. “Variety keeps folks interested in exercise.”

Maher said she plans to encourage more people to play the game. They plan to take the game to each floor and have a demonstration and, perhaps, start a senior bowling league.

Aldrich M. Tan: (920) 426-6663 or atan@thenorthwestern.com.