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Interactive Fitness: Video Games That Put Fun Into Fitness

Interactive fitness technologies are providing positive experiences that benefit the whole family.

By: Andea Oh

Fitness facilities of the 21st century are evolving rapidly and becoming more member focused by offering products and services that meet the needs of entire families versus just single members and providing an environment that reinforces a sense of community for all members and staff.

Facilities now offer products and services specifically for adults (males only and females only) as well as kids. This gives Mom and Dad the opportunity to bring the kids to their neighborhood club for a family outing. Unfortunately, when you walk into any traditional fitness facility or recreation center you notice three distinct things:

The products and services cater specifically to adults and couples.
Child care caters mainly to children under the age of 8 years and these children are in a separate environment far from their parents.
Very few members are smiling while they are engaged in their chosen physical activity.

In today's face-paced world it is increasingly difficult to find time dedicated to reconnecting family. Not only do they need to find an environment that appeals to each member of the family but they also need to find activities that the whole family can enjoy. Both the environment and the activity need to be safe for all participants, be fun and motivating and provide an overall positive experience.

Above, a girl playing with the Cybex Tazer. New exercise video games keep the kids engaged while giving them a workout.

With that being said, if a fitness facility is supposed to build a sense of community and reinforce strong family values how can this be accomplished if parents and kids do not have an opportunity to interact with one another? What offering is there for youth and teens who are especially in need of guidance and strong role models? How can parents be good fitness role models when they are separated from their kids?

Video Games Get a Fitness Makeover

Aside from the traditional cardio equipment, strength training machines and free weights in fitness facilities and recreation centers there is a "new kid on the block" in the war against the "Battle of the Bulge" as well as proving beneficial in building stronger families. Video games and their cousins, interactive fitness technologies, are the newest additions to fitness facilities and community recreation centers across North America and around the world. Unlike their fitness equipment counterparts that are geared more towards adult use this new category of equipment is appealing to youngsters as well as adults.

"these games are getting people moving in new and exciting ways"

With the new interactive fitness technologies available today, it is surprisingly easy to workout, lose weight, and have fun while doing it all. These technologies take the excitement and familiarity of the most common interactive entertainment offerings and bring them to an active environment where the joystick is taken out of the hands and replaced with the movement of the human body. They also take the social aspect of video game experiences to further provide an environment that is high energy and fun.

The participant is required to simulate movements using their bodies to react to challenges on the LCD screen. By moving feet to matching arrows and music, to peddling faster to make your car pick up speed these games are getting people moving in new and exciting ways. Now the goal of keeping fit is more easily accomplished by adding fun and dynamic "interactive" videogames into any exercise routine, at the gym, in schools, and even at home.

These interactive fitness video games also provide unique social experiences coupled with physical movement and activity. Because most games are played in pairs these games provide an opportunity to participate in a social environment. Games can be modified for each participant's skill level which allows for a wide variety of ages and abilities to participate in a single environment. This opens the door to whole families participating in unique physical activities that are exciting, motivating, and challenging for everyone that is a lot of fun at the same time!

The Alarming Statistics About Today's Youth

An estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide, exergaming may be a solution.

The DNA and the cells they reproduce are no longer perfect copies but damaged copies. This begins the degradation of functioning cells that is commonly referred to as aging. Many age-related diseases are also attributed to this occurrence.

According to Dr. Vincent Giampapa, M.D., age management specialist and founder of Suracell, "The more damage to your DNA, the more rapidly you age. That's been shown with animals, and now has actually been shown to be directly related to human tumors and cancer."

The World Health Organization (WHO) released some staggering statistics regarding the current state of obesity around the world, and the results are rather alarming. Based on WHO's reports, there are currently more than 1 billion adults who are overweight, and at least 300 million of those are clinically obese. Current obesity levels range from below 5% in China, Japan and certain African nations, to over 75% in urban Samoa.

An estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, in the USA the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980. The prevalence of obese children aged 6 to 11 years has more than doubled since the 1960s. Obesity prevalence in youths aged 12 to 17 has increased dramatically from 5% to 13% in boys and from 5% to 9% in girls between 1966-70 and 1988-91 in the U.S.

What caused this change? What factors have contributed to this drastic increase? Is the current state of the world's health problems the direct result of our fast paced lives, where there seems to be less and less time for ourselves, cutting corners whenever we can to speed up the process? Is technology to blame for the current state of world health? Are kids spending too much time staying indoors, watching countless hours of television and refusing to go outside unless it is to go from home to school and then back again?

The issues of obesity extends beyond physical appearance and can result in numerous health problems that often times stem from unhealthy lifestyle habits and choices. Being overweight can lead to adverse metabolic effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance. Besides those life threatening conditions, there are also debilitating health problems such as respiratory difficulties, chronic musculoskeletal problems, skin problems and infertility.

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