Exercise made fun, easy, and different.

Updated on May 8, 2011
Since 1963 the rate of overweight or obese kids in America has tripled.  One in three kids and teens today are either overweight or obese.  Childhood obesity has become the number one health concern among parents. The American Heart Association lists some statistics for children ages 2-19 that are either overweight or obese.

Unhealthy habits, photo taken from International News.com,

Now day’s parents have to find new inventive ways to get kids to eat healthy or to exercise. Kids want to watch TV or play video games instead of going outside to play or doing moderate to vigorous exercise. Technology has been growing over the past few years and has produced interactive games, which cause people to burn more energy or calories.  In this blog I’m going to talk about how interactive games have become an effective way for kids to get the exercise they need,  I will admit I am only giving a few examples however, there are a lot other games and gaming consoles out there as well. 

According to Bruce Bailey a professor of exercise science at Brigham Young University, in a March 10 article written in Voice of America, they found that interactive video games can increase physical activity from moderate to vigorous levels, however this is assuming that the appropriate games and levels are chosen. If the child is actively participate it could meet the requirements for physical activity.

Bloomberg Business week reported in a March 7 article, Elizabeth DiRico, an exercise physiologist for Cigna Healthcare in Findlay, Ohio, said Bailey's findings mirrored the results of a similar study she did with college-age students in 2008.

DiRico also mentioned that the exergoamers were way better than inactive digital games, and was able to introduce kids to different and fun ways of exercise that they may not have tried or thought of.

The thing with kids is not only that they're sitting in front of video games, but also there's often a lot of mindless snacking going on. This makes it harder to snack while they're doing it," DiRico said. I think the major thing is that this is an alternate or supplement to traditional exercise plans. 

Interactive video games can help children burn more energy.  Photo taken from voanews.com

Not all researchers believe that all exergames are beneficial. Some games require more movement than others, for example Wii’s boxing game has several levels as well as different levels of physical activity, where as Wii’s golf game doesn’t have as many levels nor physical activity.

The Wii was the gaming consol that started the whole move to interactive gaming, followed by the Play Station Move and now the Xbox 360 has brought the Kinect to the interactive gaming circle. Just in the past 5 years this technology has evolved and has become a big impact on the gaming world. Below are videos commercials demonstrating how these three gaming systems have been competing for the spot of interactive gaming system.

Wii by Nintendo

The Play Station Move by Sony

Xbox 360 Kinect by Microsoft 

The technology is out there, and people are constantly looking for new ways to change their exercise routine and if kids are willing to try this why not. It’s still getting their exercise in for the day, just in a more technology savvy way. So why not with something that is interactive, fun, and entertaining. Just don’t throw your back out.

Modern Technology helps Autistic Children for the Modern World.

Video games have become a popular source of entertainment for children, teens, and adults.  Like all technology, computer games have improved over time.  Now days you see games that are as complex as real life, some games even mimic real life situations. Some new computer software programs and games have even been developed to address the core feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this blog you will learn about what video games are currently being used for ASD individuals along with pros and cons of using video games to teach social skills. 

Games that have been directly made for autistic children are:

•        Mind Reading: The interactive guide to emotions
•         Fun with Feelings
•         Face Say (Youtube video below talks more about Face Say)
•      EASe Funhouse Treasure Hunt

Individuals with ASD enjoy playing computer games like any other kid. ASD individuals have been known to excel in technological areas (mathematics and computing), because often times ASD individuals are more comfortable with computers than people.  They are respond better to actually seeing social situations played out.

There is no current evidence that says playing video games alone will increase ASD individual’s social skills. However there are several arguments that support and oppose using video games for social training.

Autism News Wire

PROS:

•        Video games provide children with a safe environment-since social situations are stressful for individuals with ASD, video games provide an environment where they can practice social skills without any fear of negative repercussions.
•  Video games are consistent and patient-you can practice the same situation over on the computer, as many times as you want, and the computer won’t get frustrated or bored.

CONS:

·      Video games cause repetitive behavior-video games have been known to cause a restricted interest where individuals have no interest in anything other than the video game itself.

·      Individuals could become reliant on technology and not get real world interaction-individuals wouldn’t get that real world interaction that they need to obtain social skills.

According to a March 1 article in Herald, Western Kentucky University's Student Newspaper, Carrie Pritchard who is an assistant psychology professor at Western Kentucky University has been working on designing a computer game to teach social skills to autistic children.

“The player is going to have choices about more skilled and less skilled behaviors they could enact after a character invites them or engages them,” Pritchard said, according to a March 1, article in Herald (Western Kentucky University’s Student Newspaper).

(Example of a game made just for children with Autism)

Current commercially sold video games that are known to be socially themed games have been used in research to help adults with ASD.  One of the games would consist of The Sims. The Sims has been used as a social and vocational rehabilitation tool for adults with ASD, to help them gain self-awareness and practice social skills.  While using The Sims players create characters and then makes you navigate through a bunch of real life activities.  The Sims has a strong potential to help individuals with self-awareness and exploration of social issues. 

In conclusion games such as The Sims have potential for helping individuals with ASD improve social skills.  As technology has been improving the games become more life-like, detailed, and easier for researchers to find better ways of using video game technology to help individuals with ASD to obtain social skills that is fun, effective, and less stressful on them.