To Fight Childhood Obesity, Schools Embrace Video Games

As more and more children succumb to the obesity epidemic, schools are desperately seeking ways to increase kids' activity levels. A decade ago, this might have meant a renewed focus on physical education or lessons about the benefits of putting away the video games and going outside to play. But increasingly, play time means screen time. As USA Today reports, some schools are not only allowing video games in the classroom, they're broadcasting them.

In Las Cruces, N.M., an elementary school is having students do five minutes of Just Dance, one of Nintendo Wii's active games, at the start of every school day. The dance game is broadcast into classrooms with TV monitors and teachers take part in the activity too. The school was inspired to try the games by researchers at New Mexico State University, who are investigating whether exergames, video games that encourage physical activity, can be useful for increasing activity levels and warding off obesity in children.

An estimated 17 percent of children ages 2-19 years are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity is linked to numerous health problems, including high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, and obese children are more likely to become obese adults. Lack of physical activity is a main contributor to obesity. Currently, less than one-third of high school students meet the recommended levels of physical activity.

Normally, video games and TV watching are indicated as reasons why kids are less active than they used to be. But exergames are seen as a novel way to incorporate screen time with calorie burning. Perhaps most importantly, they make exercise more attractive to kids.

Active video games have been around for years, but more and more schools are getting hip to their usefulness. In Delaware, afterschool programs are using games like Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution to ensure kids are active when they can't get outdoors due to cold. Edutopia reports on a elementary school in Los Angeles using Dance Dance Revolution in PE class that has kids lined up waiting to workout. In Idaho, researchers are studying whether active video games result in same exertion levels as regular outdoor exercise in a group of 9-12 year olds.

In March, the American Academy of Pediatrics gave their seal of approval on the games, stating that playing video games actually can be considered exercise, especially the Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution.

But just how much of a health benefit can these games actually provide? Researchers at California State University found that kids burned a low of 1.6 calories a minute playing Wii golf and up to 4.3 calories while playing boxing. The amount of calories depends on the activity and also the amount of effort a child puts into it. However,  Bryan Haddock, the lead researcher, cautions that the video games can't supplant real exercise.

"What I've been telling people is that they are certainly a whole lot better than sitting on the couch playing the handheld video games where you do nothing, but I think it's a stretch to think that buying one of these games will replace the need to do other physical activities," Haddock told USA Today.

That raises the questions of whether kids, taught in schools that PE can mean exercising to video games, might rely solely on games for their activity. What happens then, when they outgrow video games or the novelty wears off? Will outdoor activities seem like a foreign concept?

The video games in schools research also says nothing about studies that have linked screen time to learning problems in kids. A recent study published in the November edition of Pediatrics found that children who spend longer than two hours in front of a computer or TV screen have an increased risk of psychological difficulties, regardless of how active they are.

Of course, tackling childhood obesity take more than just increases in activity levels; we also need bans on junk food advertising to kids and healthier food options. But despite drawbacks, school using video games as way to get kids moving see results. At the elementary school in N.M., the short breaks dedicated to dancing are leading to decreased tardiness, increased physical activity and an enthusiasm for exercise. And that's no small revolution.

Photo credit: supervillain