Here's how overweight children can use video games to slim down

An unlikely hero has now come to the rescue of overweight children: video games. Special exercise video games have now been introduced to help overweight children drop pounds, improve their cholesterol and blood pressure as well as have fun in the process. The study’s lead author Amanda Staiano said that it's a lot more effective to co-opt children’ favourite pastime than to fight it. “Children are really interested in this and spend hours a week playing,” Staiano said. “So, rather than blame the games and technology, it made sense to see how they could help.”





“Your body becomes input into the game through an infrared sensor,” she explained. “It’s constantly reading what your body is doing. And you make points controlling the player on the screen with your own body," she added. They also included weekly talks with a coach via the internet. “That helped keep them accountable for physical activity goals,” Staiano said. “Other groups have given children games at home only to find that children stopped playing after a few weeks.” “Studies have shown that children expend more energy when they are playing with another person,” Staiano said.



“Harnessing modern technology along with appealing to a child’s interest in gaming can help achieve an increase in physical activity,” said Van Horn, who was not involved in the new research. “Everybody is more interested in reducing exposure to screens. This study took advantage of the fact children like to look at screens and applied it in such a way that the children were motivated to exercise. This could have a new meaning for adapting screens to a favorable outcome.” Well, this certainly looks promising. Wouldn't you agree? Stay tuned for more updates.