Exergames: Not Just Another Health Craze!

Active video games otherwise known as Exergames are being touted as the ultimate cure for obesity. Refreshing, since everyone is still looking for that magic diet pill!In contrast to traditional video games, this "active entertainment gaming system allows players to experience various activities such as bowling, fishing, tennis and golf in a virtual world" or "even take a walk or run along streets facing obstacles." In exergaming, hand controllers are eliminated and the body is used to power the game. One of the first exergames was Konami's Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), which was released in 1998.Obesity is a global epidemic. In 2004 the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies announced that "approximately 9 million children in the

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