Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in America. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), obesity has been on a steady increase amogst kids ages 2-19. The harsh reality is that our kids are getting fatter. But what can we do about it? Kids always seem to find a way to do what they do. Continue eating unhealthy. Continue to not exercise. COntinue to sit around and play video games… But a new wave is proving that exercising and videogames can work together. Kids are going to play video games anyway. Why not make them workout at the same time? By using a media, such as video games that has already proven it’s hold over our children, and allowing them to get exercise at the same time video games are proving a viable solution to fight childhooh obesity.
Here it is! The prototypical “gamer”. The couch potatoe if you will. Traditional games, games that do not require movement, have been blamed for aiding in the growth of obese children. And to some end they have. For decades they have been they have been the only kind of games we have known. Only in recent years have concerns about the roles video games play in the lives of children and the problems they cause them come to life. Video games have become a large part in the lives of today’s children. Unforunatly, they have had some role in leading us to a society of lazy fat kids.
But wait! Now presenting the future of gaming. The Wii, Nintendo’s next generation console, makes kids get up and move to play. The motion sensing controllers require the player to move to perform desired actions. The Wii allows kids the oportunity to get up an become a part of the games. Games that would normally be played by pressing buttons such as golf or tennis are now played out by swinging the remote as if it were a golf club or tennis raquet. The benifits and impact are very real. The Mayo Clinic contests that games, such as the wii, that require movement help kids burn 3 times as more calories than traditional games.
Wii’s next step in helping kids get into shape is Wii Fit. This is the balance board with which many games can be played. Wii Fit can teach kids Yoga, the perfect push up, or just allow them to snowboard. Wii Fit will keep track of progress as well. After calculating your BMI (Body Mass Index), your records are kept in a portfolio of your progress. This kind of technology is adressing the concerns of critics about the captivation of children over video games.
Gamercize is also taking it’s stake in the matter. Gamersize marries both the old and new gaming by allowing traditional video games to be played while they exercise. The peripheral comes as a “stairmaster” or bike pedals. As long as the kids continue to exercise the control will work. But, as soon as they slow down or stop the controller cuts out. This allows kids to play ANY game and still remain healthy. Parents who are worried about their children playing video games as apposed to going outside can now take action and ease their fears. With Gamercize, kids can play their games and stay fit too!
XRKade is where exercising and gaming is headed. XRKade is a video gaming gym. Patrons can workout as they play Dance Dance Revolution, Rock climbing simulator, Tae Kwon Do simulator, Kyack simulator and much more. These gyms make it it fun to work out and are a reasonable outlet for exercise. The XRKade in Arizona vouches that the local high school football would exercise at the gaming gym when ever it was too hot outside for practice.
The future is bright for video games and their ability to fight obesity. This shows the versitility and the ability of video games to evolve with the times. Video Games and exercising is showing the world that the video game industry is not only listening to it’s critics but taking it a step further by adressing those problems. The gaming industry is cleaning up after it self and proving to the world that video games are not as evil as the may have first thought.
