Can a Videogame Help Fight Child Obesity?

No. Certainly not this one, at least.

Wrote about this brain dead idea a while ago.

ABCNews just got around to it.

Apparently, so did Kaiser.

"With childhood obesity rates tripling in the last 15 years, Kaiser Permanente has decided to do something about this growing epidemic..."

After 15 years, seems about time to wake up. Unfortunately, they awoke in a stupor.

Now that KP has "decided to do something," you can bet that fat is shaking in its boots.

"As Junior Food Detectives, players snoop into the lifestyles of the unhealthy kids to uncover the causes of their health problems. They will find that all the problems are linked to bad nutrition and activity choices."

"...by their pediacidal parents," is how the sentence above should have been completed.

Here is another will-not-succeed feature. The game,

"has an automatic turnoff 20 minutes into the playing experience. The Amazing Food Detective dramatically interrupts the game to explain that it is time to take a break and get active. She tells children not to return for 60 minutes and while they are gone, she suggests that they do push-ups."

Any bets on whether this long half-time will be spent sweating, eating, elsewhere online or camping out by the fridge?

"Kaiser Permanente developed the game for 9- and 10-year-olds 'because research shows us that if you can positively influence the behavior of children at their age, you can affect their lifelong eating habits,' he said."

Hey, KP! See the blog entry below this one.

Morons.