Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Study Says Video Sports Have Little Effect on Childhood Obesity

While it may be true that interactive games like those made for Nintendo's Wii console encourage players to get up and move, a study has determined that these games don't keep children active enough to keep them healthy. One example of research that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine was the discovery that real tennis is 77 percent more physically demanding than the video version.
"The study authors calculated that in a typical week, a child who played Wii sports would use about 2% more energy than one playing sedentary computer games. They said the increase was 'trivial', and the activity was not intense enough to be counted in the recommended daily amount of physical activity."
Though Wii-like gaming may offer some benefit to a child's metabolic health, the research is inconclusive in this area. The bottom line, experts say, is that virtual tennis or boxing are no substitute for the real thing. Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Labels: exercise, video_games, sports

Posted By: Aspen Education Group