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Video Game Teaches Healthy Eating, Discourages Slothfulness

Video Game Teaches Healthy Eating, Discourages Slothfulness

For children, the best solution for battling obesity isn't surgically stapling a Roker ring to their stomachs, but rather educating them about exercise and healthy eating habits early on. That's the idea behind a new child-friendly video game aimed at quick-learning kids. Why quick-learning? Because the game only lets them play for 20 minutes at a time before requiring a 60 minute break. 'The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective,' funded by mega-HMO Kaiser Permanente, tasks kids with objectives that teach them about foods and exercise, then boots them offline after 20 minutes to hopefully force them to go get less of the former and more of the latter.

There are online challenges in both English and Spanish that have kids solving in-game puzzles, like why one character's energy levels are spiking and crashing and (spoiler alert!) how healthier snacks are the solution. There are also printable scavenger hunts that kids can take with them if they can't get enough of the online version. The game is a move by Kaiser to try and reduce childhood obesity rates, which currently stand at a whopping 20 percent.

The game is available gratis on the Web sites of both Kaiser Permanente and the CDC. It will also be distributed to 5,000 schools nationwide.

If the kids are looking for something to do during the game's mandatory 60-minute recess -- and they're not fans of the outdoors -- might we recommend augmenting the curriculum with such blubber-burning video games as 'Wii Sports,' 'Dance Dance Revolution' and the upcoming 'Wii Fit.'

From I4U News

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