With the advent of more “fitness-centric” games on the market, things are beginning to change in video game land.
Public schools in West Virginia actually created a Dance Dance Revolution program that outfits all – of their middle schools with the game in a fight against childhood obesity.
“Schools are pushing to educate kids who have been born in the 21st century environments, and this is getting kids physically active in a context that they respond to,” said Melanie Purkey, executive director of student services and health promotion for the West Virginia Department of Education. School officials have already seen a reduction in some risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. And the kids who jumped on those mats felt more comfortable and were more likely to participate in extracurricular activities at school. West Virginia is ranked one of the highest states in the nation for obesity.
In Philadelphia, there’s a man named Mickey DeLorenzo. He’s 25, and like me, an avid gamer. Last December, he purchased a Nintendo Wii and decided to try an experiment. Although he did his best to maintain a healthy diet, he devoted at least 30 minutes a day to playing Wii Sports. He worked out for a month and a half and he monitored all of the important stuff like his BMI, calories burned per session and overall physical soreness. He played Wii Sports like real sports. He swung full swings playing tennis, punched with full power for boxing and jumped around like a real athlete would. On average, he burned 100 calories every 15 minutes of play.
The results? He went from 181 pounds to a mere 172. I bet his self-esteem improved too. Who wouldn’t feel good about losing nine pounds?
Nutritionists in other countries are already using games to help promote fitness in people’s daily routines. Hopefully, it won’t be long until someone says to me “Don’t forget to play your video games!”
Jonathan Masker is a wireless solution expert and is a self-proclaimed gadget guru.