Getting Down and Losing Pounds

ASEE Prism, Apr 2006 by Grose, Thomas K

SOFTWARE

WEST VIRGINIA has a heavyweight problem: too many fat kids. So its schools are hoping a computer game will encourage some students to shape up. The game, Dance Dance Revolution (or DDR), requires players to mimic dance steps that flash up on a computer screen. At 62 percent, West Virginia has one of the worst obesity rates in the country. And it ranks first for high blood pressure and fourth for diabetes. Nearly half of its fifth graders arc overweight. DDR players dance on a light- and color-coded mat, trying to keep up with the rockin' computer. The manufacturer, Konami, a Japanese company, is contributing $75,000 to the cost of the $500,000 project. Each unit costs $750. The DDR machines are not expected to replace physical education classes but to give kids- particularly those who aren't fans of traditional sports- another option to be active. The program targets kids ages 10 to 14 because it's around that time in life when most of us develop lifelong exercise habits. And it's hoped these students will learn to boogie down to trim down.-TG