Free Online Game Targets Childhood Obesity 

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Kathy Ishizuka -- School Library Journal, 10/9/2007 2:00:00 PM

A new, Web-based game teaches kids about healthy eating—then shuts itself off after 20 minutes to remind youngsters to get active.

Available in both Spanish and English, "The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective” takes children ages 9 to 10 through a series of activities that helps them make smart food choices. Created by health provider Kaiser Permanente, the game involves players in various tasks, from interpreting food labels to measuring the sugar found in soda drinks (no more Coke for this reporter). There’s also advice on age-appropriate exercise for building muscle and managing time spent in front of the computer and television.

The Kaiser project targets the disturbing rate of child obesity, which in the U.S. has tripled over the last 15 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About nine million American children are currently overweight or obese, and seven million of those kids are expected to continue that unhealthy condition as adults.

According to Ray Baxter, senior vice president for Community Benefit at Kaiser Permanente, "Food Detective" builds on Kaiser’s Healthy Eating Active Living system, with the aim of surrounding kids with healthy messages beyond what they might hear at the doctor's office.

But that may be an uphill battle. Unhealthy options abound, influencing nearly every part of children's daily lives, according to a recent report published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The national studies, led by the University of Michigan, reveal that in most middle and high schools in the U.S., contracts with soft-drink companies give students easy access to sugary beverages. Moreover, low-income neighborhoods have a higher proportion of fast-food restaurants, with fewer supermarkets and more convenience stores at which to buy their groceries. In the media, television advertisements urge kids to spend their money on junk food, and minority students get considerably more such exposure, the studies showed. Still, "The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective” has won high marks from USA Today, which praised the game for being fun and easy to play, while also providing a positive message.

To support "The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective,” Scholastic will create supplementary educational materials along with CDs of the game to distribute to more than 5,000 public schools nationwide. The materials include a teaching guide with lessons and activities and family resources.

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