World News Australia - Video games get kids to eat more veg

World News Australia - Video games get kids to eat more veg
Baylor College of Medicine professor Tom Baranowski, who led the study, said the video games Escape from Diab and Nanoswarm, which were designed to change diet and physical activity behaviours to reduce the risk of becoming obese and diabetic, "motivated players to substantially improve diet behaviours".
"Diab and Nanoswarm were designed as epic video game adventures, comparable to commercial-quality video games. These games incorporate a broad diversity of behaviour-change procedures woven in and around engrossing stories," he said.
Playing both games several times "had a meaningful effect on dietary fruit and vegetable intake", the study found.
But while that was good news, the bad news was that the children did not get more exercise, and, even with their increased intake of healthy foods, they still failed to eat the doctor-recommended minimum daily amount of fruit and vegetables.
Health professionals recommend that children eat five servings a day of fruit or vegetables and get an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise.
"Serious video games hold promise, but their effectiveness and mechanisms of change among youth need to be more thoroughly investigated," said Baranowski.