Games and Interactive Media Are Powerful Tools for Health Promotion and Childhood Obesity Prevention
Children are naturally drawn toward gaming and other types of technology, creating an ideal opportunity to design interactive media tools to encourage physical activity and promote healthy eating habits, according to an article in a special issue of the journal Childhood Obesity celebrating the second anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. The issue includes a special Foreword by Mrs. Obama and is available free online.
“Let’s Get Technical! Gaming and Technology for Weight Control and Health Promotion in Children,” an article by Tom Baranowski, PhD and Leslie Frankel, PhD, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, describes the ongoing research effort to identify and develop the most effective approaches for using gaming and interactive media to deliver health promotion messages to children of all ages.
This special Let’s Move! issue has a wide range of contributions from leaders in the fight against childhood obesity including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, NFL quarterback Drew Brees, Stephen Daniels, MD, PhD, Sandra Hassink, MD, Margo Wootan, DSc, and Editor-in-Chief David Katz, MD, MPH.
The issue covers a broad range of topics including creating environments that support routine physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, after-school obesity prevention programs, nutrition standards for school meals, faith-based advocacy efforts to end childhood obesity, gaming and technology for weight control, parent training programs for 2-4 year old Latino children, the role of sleep in childhood obesity, a roundtable discussion about what we don’t know about childhood obesity, industry efforts to help children make healthy food choices, and success stories from the Let’s Move! initiative.
“We know that ‘screen time’ is a contributor to childhood obesity. But we also know it’s not going away. Thought leaders like Dr. Baranowski are showing how to convert parts of the problem into parts of the solution,” says David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity and Director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center. “We are honored to feature such pragmatic expertise on the pages of the Journal.”
Today, 12.5 million children are overweight in the United States—more than 17 percent. Overweight children are at greater risk for many serious health problems. This initiative promotes the importance of healthy eating and physical activity at a young age to help prevent overweight and obesity in this country.
To ensure a healthy future for America’s children, we must—
Help Kids Stay Active
Encourage Healthy Eating Habits
Promote Healthy Choices
What Can You Do?
What Can You Do?
Join this effort. Everyone has a role to play - use these action checklists to get started.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Childhood Obesity is partly funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to ensure that the Journal is accessible as widely as possible, and to provide a framework that addresses the social and environmental conditions that influence opportunities for children to have access to healthy, affordable food and safe places to play and be physically active.Childhood Obesity is a bimonthly journal, published in print and online, and the journal of record for all aspects of communication on the broad spectrum of issues and strategies related to weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. The Journal includes peer-reviewed articles documenting cutting-edge research and clinical studies, opinion pieces and roundtable discussions, profiles of successful programs and interventions, and updates on task force recommendations, global initiatives, and policy platforms. It reports on news and developments in science and medicine, features programs and initiatives developed in the public and private sector, and a Literature Watch. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed online.
Childhood Obesity Facts
Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.
The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.
In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.
Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.
Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including Games for Health Journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, Population Health Management, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 70 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on our website.
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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax: (914) 740-2101
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