75. Health Beat: How Video Games Might Actually Help Kids Lose Weight

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2 mins read
Active gaming & weight loss in children

Kids these days are often living a more sedentary lifestyle which has contributed to increasing obesity. They seem to watch endless hours of television in their own rooms and playing video games until their fingers become numb. But children who play video games that have them moving around and up on their feet could actually help them lose weight, according to new research.

Active gaming & weight loss in children
Active gaming & weight loss in children

A recent study in JAMA Pediatrics found that kids who play active video games could lose unwanted pounds when coordinated with a weight management program.

The study looked at 75 overweight or obese children and found those assigned to active gaming plus family-based weight management increased their moderate-to-vigorous activity an average of 7.4 minutes per day and vigorous physical activity by nearly three minutes per day.

John Beckerman, M.D.
Dr. John Beckerman

“The latest and greatest video games that require players to move their whole body are an appealing way to promote exercise among overweight and obese children,” says Dr. John Beckerman a pediatrician at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Ill.

The research found that the active game players lost about twice as much than those on a weight management program alone.

“It’s great that these active video games get the family involved in physical activity together but my preference really is eventually to get kids outside,” Beckerman said.

“However with the winter we have had getting outside has been tough!”

Nearly one in three children in America is overweight or obese. Experts say that children ages 6 to 19 should get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity most days, about two-thirds of children do not meet this recommendation, and one-quarter of adolescents do not achieve this level on any day.

“Our overall goal is to first get kids moving,” explains Dr. Beckerman. “These active games gives obese kids another avenue of activity and can help obese kids get past the stigma they encounter trying to play team sports where they might not feel accepted or comfortable participating.”

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Illinois is a 169-bed acute care hospital with more than 700 physicians representing 50 medical specialties. It is part of Advocate Health Care, named one of the Top Ten hospital systems in the U.S. by Thomson-Reuters. For the second consecutive year, Good Shepherd has been named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics. Advocate is a faith-based organization that exists to serve its communities.

For more about Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, visit advocatehealth.com/gshp.

iHearAdvocate.com
iHearAdvocate.com

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About the Author

Post 300 - Erin Abbey at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Erin Abbey is the public affairs and marketing manager at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington where she works on getting the word out about hospital news and accomplishments as well as community events and activities.

Erin recently relocated from Chicago to the northwest suburbs where she lives with her husband, two young daughters and her dog Kallie. When she’s not at work, Erin enjoys exploring new restaurants, practicing yoga and pilates, reading as much as possible and attempting to keep up with all the news on social media.

CLICK HERE to read the latest articles Erin has written for Advocate Health’s enews platform at achealthenews.com.

She is also the author of our 365 Barrington Health Beat series focused on advice from area physicians, the latest medical news and trends toward better health.

Sponsored by Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Sponsored by Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

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