Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

Microsoft have announced Project Natal for Xbox 360, a way of playing video games without a controller using motion sensing. Think of it as the Wii without the Wiimote. If the trailer looks anything like the real thing, then I’m impressed:

Great for getting children active!

Very funny, satirical look at a Government wheels of “action” at work (from ABC TV). Click through to the first episode.

From The Age:

A NATIONAL campaign to combat obesity by using sports equipment to reward children who exercise for an hour a day will be discussed this week at a meeting of education ministers.

Under the plan, which is being introduced in the ACT this year, all schools would be invited to participate in a 10-week competition, with equipment given to children who successfully meet the challenge.

The exercise need not happen in one session and could be accumulated during the day by walking or riding to school, participating in physical education at school and sport after school and on weekends

I wonder though - wouldn’t children who want sport equipment are already motivated to play sports in the first place? In any case, as long as the competition is voluntary, this seems like a good idea.

This is pretty cool from HandsFree3D:

I like the fact that it is camera based (like the EyeToy) and no extra wearable sensors are required. I also like the way which they’ve implemented “flying mode”. Plus, they’ve got a Matrix reference.

I like the “Play” message for children.

Workin’ up a sweat…

Be sure to read the comments at the end about the hypocrisy of it all

Stumbled across this webcast chaired by Travis Smiley with impressive panel guests (including a video message from Bill Clinton). There were strong opinions about the challenges and potential solutions to this problem. If nothing else, watch it for the way Travis presents and the way one panellist gets the whole audience into an impromptu aerobic session.

Here’s a bit more info about the meeting:

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Tavis Smiley Presents have partnered to host a town hall meeting panel discussion on Eliminating Childhood Obesity: Best Practices for Communities and Schools in Baltimore, Md.

This meeting will explore ideas to prevent and reduce childhood obesity, particularly among those children at greatest risk. It will also examine effective strategies for working together in reshaping schools and communities to be healthier places for our children. As a person interested in health and health care in the Baltimore area, you are cordially invited to attend this informative town hall meeting.

A panel of local and national community and education leaders, community representatives, civic organizations, policy-makers, and consumers in Baltimore and surrounding areas.

Childhood obesity is a serious public health epidemic. Over the past three decades, rates of obesity in the United States have more than doubled among children ages 2 to 5 and more than tripled among those ages 6 to 11. The Institute of Medicine reports that an estimated 9 million children over age 6 are obese.

Further, African-American and Latino children living in lower-income communities are among those that suffer the most from being overweight or clinically obese, which can lead to the early onset of other life-threatening illnesses, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.

This looks really good. Wii Fit, made by Nintendo, is designed to use their innovative gaming platform to make getting fit fun. Watch at the 2:00 minute mark when the kids use it to play balancing games. Also note on one of the screens it calculates and tracks your Body Mass Index (BMI).

UPDATE: Wii Fit in the Top 25 sales at Amazon.com

This is what a wrote back on another site I created:

Last night’s Australian Budget allocated $124.4 Million for the “Active After-School Communities” program to combat childhood obesity. A worthy pursuit indeed. However, recent research from Liverpool John Moores University showed that playing the Wii results in a child losing up to 12.25kg.

So… let’s say, hypothetically, that the $124.4 Million was spent on Wii’s to combat childhood obesity. That’s 311,000 consoles distributed over about 7,000 schools across Australia. That’s 44 consoles per school. Imagine an after-school program like that!

For the uninitiated, the Wii (which is the now the most popular gaming console) is a video game console that requires players to get up out of their seat and physically wave the controller around to play the game. Here is a clip of Wii Boxing: