Get Kids Moving with Videos

It's quite clear that today's kids are a video game loving generation. But what if there existed games that promoted fitness instead of fatness?

More and more these days, such games are popping up. In fact, the interactive fitness or exergaming movement is sweeping the country, with games showing up in YMCAs, private kiddie gyms, and even in schools. One of the most popular is Dance Dance Revolution, a game that hails from Japan. After choosing a difficulty level and their favorite music, players stand on a raised platform connected to the machine, with four arrowed footpads pointing up, down, right and left. Corresponding arrows scroll upward across the screen as the music plays, and the player controls the game by stepping on the matching footpad arrow. An accuracy score is assigned to each step, with a highlighted "Life Bar" reflecting overall accuracy. The Life Bar decreases with missed steps and increases with accurate steps, and when the song is over, the player's performance is given a final grade, from AAA to E.

Dance Dance Revolution is one of many exergames that researchers are studying to determine if they provide sufficient exercise benefits, or if they are just a passing fad. So far, the jury is out.
One discouraging study finding is that kids become bored when they have unlimited access to exergames, with decreasing use of such games over time. Also, some of the games can be manipulated, resulting in the player not using their full strength while playing. One example is an interactive video bike game, where players can race one another, viewing an onscreen character's progress as they pedal. While the game is designed so that the character moves faster with faster bike pedaling, some kids have learned how to manipulate, or "override," their character by using the hand-held controller rather than pedaling.

There's also the question of whether exergaming is a form of exercise that translates to a real life commitment to exercise. Given that the best form of exercise is one that can be enjoyed and maintained for a lifetime, the question arises, "How many 40 year olds play video games?" Some of the sporting games seem best adapted to lifelong use, such as the Tiger Woods gaming software, which allows a player to use their own golf clubs to play 800 challenging golf courses. Another game, called X-Board, allows players to snowboard down a mountain and do tricks along the way.

While many researchers are cautiously optimistic about the exergame craze, they caution that parents should not fool themselves into thinking that games will fulfill a child's entire need for exercise. Exergaming is just one form of fitness and should augment other forms of outdoor exercise, not replace it.