West Virginia Feels The Beat
White boys can dance... or else.
Published: January 25, 2006
Dance Dance Revolution has been touted by plenty of fatties (ourselves included) for being a serious benefit when it comes to boosting cardio levels and improving foot coordination. In fact, most that have played the games have been happy to report the exercise benefits -- especially since versions in the past five or so years have started including a workout mode that actually tracks the calories burned in honest-to-goodness kcal measurements (a more accurate measurement of calories burned).
Konami, of course, has tried their damnedest to make this a valid point of the DDR experience. It's a good one, since flailing around to cheesy dance music is way, way more fun than most would think (or drop their inhibitions enough to accept), and it seems finally some people in the right places are starting to get that.
The West Virginia School District, realizing that they rock one of the nation's highest childhood obesity rates, is turning to games to help get their kids in shape -- and we are most definitely talking about DDR here. Throughout the 765 schools in the state (105 among them being middle/junior high schools that are the first phase of the integration), a DDR-based plan has been drafted with full data tracking to see how the results of the program actually work out in a real-world situation.
“Bringing the health benefits and enjoyment that DDR provides to school children is a great way to combat childhood obesity that is caused by the sedentary lifestyle of today’s kids,” said Konami's Clara Gilbert, Director of Business Partnerships. “DDR has been a proven success in schools and this program with the State of West Virginia demonstrates the positive effects that can come from making DDR a part of one’s daily routine. This first-of-its-kind partnership will help us continue to demonstrate the benefits of DDR to consumers around the country.”
West Virginia's Public Employees Insurance Agency's Wellness Director Nidia Henderson seems to agree. “Addressing childhood obesity is among the top priorities of Governor Manchin's administration. DDR offers West Virginia a unique opportunity to turn ’screen time’ into active time while allowing children residing in even the most rugged terrain an opportunity for physical activity,” she added.
The PEIA is one of two groups (along with West Virgina University's Motor Development Center) that pioneered a clinically-based Games for Health research project to determine how punching arrows with your feet could help get offset the love of Twinkies (or in our case the delicious 2 for $.99 tacos at Jack in the Box). The result is the collaboration that helps get the kids into the game at a minimal cost to the taxpayers.
Along with the PEIA and WVUMDC, Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield and Konami are all working together to process the reports that come out of the whole program to make sure they're actually effective (and spin them, no doubt, if they aren't), but it's likely we'll see some seriously awesome results based on the pure addictive nature of DDR -- especially with people that have haven't yet been bitten by the bug. The results will be published once the program wraps.
As a bunch of fast food-loving game geeks, most of us in the office have personally witnessed the benefit of DDR in giving us a slimmer figure, and it'll be interesting to see how professionally monitored programs actually work out. As soon as we get the results, we'll make sure you know about it.
Konami, of course, has tried their damnedest to make this a valid point of the DDR experience. It's a good one, since flailing around to cheesy dance music is way, way more fun than most would think (or drop their inhibitions enough to accept), and it seems finally some people in the right places are starting to get that.
The West Virginia School District, realizing that they rock one of the nation's highest childhood obesity rates, is turning to games to help get their kids in shape -- and we are most definitely talking about DDR here. Throughout the 765 schools in the state (105 among them being middle/junior high schools that are the first phase of the integration), a DDR-based plan has been drafted with full data tracking to see how the results of the program actually work out in a real-world situation.
“Bringing the health benefits and enjoyment that DDR provides to school children is a great way to combat childhood obesity that is caused by the sedentary lifestyle of today’s kids,” said Konami's Clara Gilbert, Director of Business Partnerships. “DDR has been a proven success in schools and this program with the State of West Virginia demonstrates the positive effects that can come from making DDR a part of one’s daily routine. This first-of-its-kind partnership will help us continue to demonstrate the benefits of DDR to consumers around the country.”
West Virginia's Public Employees Insurance Agency's Wellness Director Nidia Henderson seems to agree. “Addressing childhood obesity is among the top priorities of Governor Manchin's administration. DDR offers West Virginia a unique opportunity to turn ’screen time’ into active time while allowing children residing in even the most rugged terrain an opportunity for physical activity,” she added.
The PEIA is one of two groups (along with West Virgina University's Motor Development Center) that pioneered a clinically-based Games for Health research project to determine how punching arrows with your feet could help get offset the love of Twinkies (or in our case the delicious 2 for $.99 tacos at Jack in the Box). The result is the collaboration that helps get the kids into the game at a minimal cost to the taxpayers.
Along with the PEIA and WVUMDC, Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield and Konami are all working together to process the reports that come out of the whole program to make sure they're actually effective (and spin them, no doubt, if they aren't), but it's likely we'll see some seriously awesome results based on the pure addictive nature of DDR -- especially with people that have haven't yet been bitten by the bug. The results will be published once the program wraps.
As a bunch of fast food-loving game geeks, most of us in the office have personally witnessed the benefit of DDR in giving us a slimmer figure, and it'll be interesting to see how professionally monitored programs actually work out. As soon as we get the results, we'll make sure you know about it.