By: Lisa Poisso Date Posted: 6/2/2008 Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend

It’s hard to think of a group that might frown more strongly upon video games than PE teachers and coaches. After all, video games suck kids into marathon couch sessions in an orgy of Cheetos-munching sloth (or so the popular misconception goes). But today’s coaches are welcoming video games into the gym with open arms – and we’re not just talking about waggling nunchuks, either. New “exergaming” systems are getting kids kicking, punching, dancing and leaping their way to leaner bodies.

The trend comes not a moment too soon. Despite the fact that one-third of Texas schoolchildren are overweight or obese (the second-highest rate in the nation), Texas does not mandate physical education before high school. The percentage of American students who attended a daily PE class dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to a wimpy 28 percent in 2003.

Today’s exergaming technology goes way beyond Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Wii sports games. We’re talking electronic whack-a-mole projected on a gym wall with bikes hooked up to monitors and kids literally racing to learn their numbers and ABCs, and laser-guided waist packs that track kids’ moves as they bob and weave their way through simulations. Kids are leaping into action at fitness events, kid gyms and even a growing number of school districts across the Metroplex.

Working In Working Out
No matter where kids are playing, experts report that exergaming

Top 5 Games to Get Kids Moving Gaming guru Christopher Grant, editor-in-chief at video game mega-site www.joystiq.com, shares his top five picks for games that get your kids up and moving. 1. Rock Band While the guitar and singing portions are great, the drums are what we’re here to talk about. It’s easy to work up a sweat and maybe kindle some interest in playing a real drum kit. 2. Dance Dance Revolution Using a special dance pad, players match the notes on the screen with the corresponding quadrant of the pad, using their feet. 3. Wii Sports Players use the Wii remote as a baseball bat, tennis racket or bowling ball (tip: don’t let go). While the five mini-games included don’t have a lot of depth, they can be fun to come back to or play with others. 4. Samba Di Amigo The seminal Dreamcast classic will be re-released on the Wii this fall, replacing the unforgettable “maraca” controllers with two Wii remotes. Like Rock Band and DDR, Samba Di Amigo is a rhythm game where players shake their maracas to the beat. Like DDR, people have built exercise regiments around Samba, so it’s sure to get kids moving. 5. Wii Fit Wii Fit isn’t so much “game” as it is “exercise platform,” a combination “balance board” peripheral and bundled mini-game disc that includes aerobics exercises and more playful fare like a hula hoop game.

is capturing the interest of children who might not have otherwise gotten involved in physical fun. “(For) kids who might not really be into athletics, it’s a sneaky way to get the fitness into them,” reports Megan Howell, youth program director at the Cooper Fitness Center in McKinney.

Active video games fill an important niche for children who don’t or won’t play traditional sports, notes Whitney Strauss of the local Get Kidz Fit Fest. “We didn’t want to categorize, saying every child has to go into sports in order to be physically fit,” she explains. “We know that demographically in Dallas and the surrounding areas, not every child may have the opportunity to be in sports or has access, and not every child likes sports.” Howell adds that exergaming entices reluctant athletes to participate at their own comfort levels. “They can do this independently, they can do it with a friend … It’s a way for them to be active and comfortable,” she says.

Breaking the notion that physical fitness equals organized sports is another part of the equation. “We want to show families that there are lots and lots of different ways that they can stay physically active that are beneficial to their health,” Strauss says. “They don’t need to think that they have to be outdoors doing sports. They can do it inside, they can do it outside, they can do it adding extra steps into their days &hellip ;.”

In fact, fitness isn’t always first priority when it comes to getting kids into exergaming. Successful programs keep the focus firmly on how fun the games are, not on setting goals and working out. “We ask parents … are they looking for a place for their kids to get healthy and fit or are they looking for a place where they can have some stress relief?” says Katie Carr, director and VP of training for NexGym of Plano. “It ends up being less about the exergaming and more about the relationships and fun the staff ends up having with the kids. It’s not me telling them what they should be or that they’re overweight. It’s more about helping them become a better version of who they want to be.”

How do the new games measure up against the old standards, in terms of getting kids’ hearts pounding and bodies sweating? Research is sparse but encouraging. A Mayo Clinic study last year found that obese kids burned six times as many calories playing Dance Dance Revolution than they did when playing traditional video games. Another 2007 study showed that college students burned twice as many calories kicking and twisting in a video game as they did trudging along on a treadmill.

The best test? Hook up one of the games from our top five picks and go a few rounds with your kids – if you find yourself wiping your brow in a gale of breathless, sweaty laughter, you’ll know you’re on the right track.