Tuesday, May 27, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 5 Getting Wii fit A dangerous solution or most of my childhood I was a big kid. About the time I turned 16 I decided I didn't much enjoy being overweight any- more. So I did " what any teen- ager who want- ed to shed some pounds would do: I joined TOM Weight Watch- MICHNIACKI ers. Without a doubt, it was uncomfortable being the only teenage male among menopausal women. But if I was an overweight teen nowadays, I would have a new, less socially awkward way to lose some weight: the Nintendo Wii, "Wii Sports", and the compa- ny's latest release, "Wii Fit," which came out last week. Studies show that child- hood obesity is on the rise. The increase is likely due to the inac- tive lifestyle and bad eating habits exhibited by many kids. Oh, how I fondly remember lying on my couch, watching "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and eating McDonald's double cheeseburgers. Those were undoubtedly good times, but those greasy patties of goodness greatly increased my risk of suffering from serious health problems like coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Being overweight is dan- gerous, which is why any effort to decreasethe numberofoverweight children in this country should be welcomed. That's where the Wii and games like "Wii Sports" and "Wii Fit" come in. "Wii Sports" involves moving the video game controller to simulate the movements used in real sports. For example, to play the tennis portion of the game, players must move their controller just like they are swinging a racket in a real tennis game. The new "Wii Fit" can do some pretty sweet things. It can keep track of your body mass index and record your improvement in four types of physical activity: yoga poses, muscle workouts, aerobic exercise and balance games. If I could only go back in time and watch my overweight self attempt to do the "King of the Dance" - which Nintendo maintains is indeed a real yoga pose. Sweat- pants with grease stains plus Zen equals sex appeal. But are the Wii and its more physically focused games really going to decrease the number of overweight kids? Not likely. Nintendo's marketing of its game system emphasizes the Wii's ability to get kids off the couch and moving. But new research may refute the company's claims that it will save humanity from the plight of childhood obesity. A study in the British Medical Jour- nal showed that someone playing "Wii Sports" only burns about 60 more calories an hour than some- one who is playing a traditional sedentary video game. And the new "Wii Fit" game might burn more calories than that, but it's no substitute for play- ing real sports, attending Weight Watchers meetings and mak- ing real lifestyle changes. If kids truly want to lose a large amount of weight, they'll have to do more than play the Wii. A healthy diet and working out a few times a week can't be replaced by a con- troller and a joystick. The Wii may not be enough to avoid Weight Watchers. While Nintendo's "Wii Fit" won't decrease childhood obesity substantially, it may make kids more knowledgeable about health and fitness. Games like "Wii Sports" may be the impetus to get kids to join real tennis leagues or start playing baseball, which is a great thing because the devel- opment of healthy habits during adolescence is critical to having a healthy adulthood. So the Wii may actually be doing some good, but no parent or youngster should expect a miracle. It took a lot of hard work to lose weight when I was 16, and it doesn't look like dropping some pounds will get any easier because of the Wii. But at least with the help of Nintendo's yoga, you'll have the new-found, name-brand spiritual peace needed to make it though all those awkward conver- sations at Weight Watchers about dressing for your body type and Oprah's latest diet. Tom Michniacki can be reached at tmich@umich.edu. conomic conditions in the United States have left both college students and full- time employ- ees frustrated and desperatej when it comes a to money mat- ters. If you're likemepaying for housing, -r personal bills SHAKIRA and school SMILER expenses with the income from a part-time job is impossible. One controversial solution for broke college women is egg dona- tion. I'll be the first to admit that desperate times call for desperate measures - I, too, have seriously considered being an egg donor. We see advertisements for it all around campus, even on the Stu- dent Employment website. In fact, there is a new reproductive assis- tance clinic that opened recently in Ann Arbor known as The Stork Society. According to their website, donors can make anywhere from $5,500 to $7,000 for simply donat- ing a few eggs to an infertile cou- ple. Students are even able to name their own price if they have an advanced degree or a high IQ. The only requirements for applicants are that you be between the ages of 19 and 33, drug-free, healthy, and HIV/hepatitis negative. The idea of being an egg donor is - pretty tempting, especially to students who are financially independent. If selected, the process doesn't sound too bad either. A donor goes through about a three-and-a-half-week pro- cess consisting of daily fertil- ity shots, regular bloodtests and ultrasound scans. When it is time to remove the eggs, a doctor sedates the donor, inserts a needle into the ova- ries and removes the eggs via a suctioning vacuum. The procedure takes only minutes, and while there may be some slight discomfort like cramping aftward, on the whole the process doesn't sound toobad-Whywouldn't a woman sinking deeply in debt jump at the chance to get paid $5,500 to do it? Egg donation seems like the best deal since the Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual sale. And it's addicting. Repeat donors earn a pay increase of $1,000 or more, and some women have been known to donate eggs more than ten times. More importantly, being an egg donor allows you to help a couple unable to produce their own chil- dren make their dreams of having a family come true. Many women who are born with an inability to conceive a child desperately seek out donors to aid them in the pro- cess of giving birth to a child. Who wouldn't be honored to say they were partly responsible for grant- ing someone's ultimate wish in life? Being an egg donor appears to be afastand rewardingwayto earn money, and can be beneficial to all parties involved. But if something sounds too good tobe true, it prob- ably is. The potential health risks that aren't mentioned may cost you way more than $5,500 bucks in the long run. For instance, donating eggs increases your risk of develop- ing ovarian cancer, and cysts may develop on ovaries, resulting in fluid build up. According to the New York Times, there have been reports of deaths in the United States and Britain due to donation- related complications. Because donors are anony- mous and many facilities do a poor job of keeping records, treating medical conditions in children, inherited from egg donors, is a dif- ficult. There hasn't really been any adequate follow-up and research with donors to determine long term health impacts, and being an egg donor may mean you become infertile yourself. Being an egg donor can mean helping someone give life to their own family, but for the most part it means getting cut a fat check to help make ends meet. Several col- Egg donation is quick money, but at what cost? lege students rush to sign up as a donor because it seems to be easy money without truly considering how' it could potentially destroy their lives. Although it may help you make a few thousand dollars, your physical and mental health is priceless. Shakira Smiler can be reached at stsmiler@umich.edu. LETTERS Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Send letters to: tothedaily@umich.edu. Artists, writers, musicians, creatives: Where are you headed after graduation? Consider Toledo: an affordable community with a great arts scene. Call 419-284-ARTS(2787) for more info. You may qualify for a relocation allowance.