The Obesity Game: An Online Resource About Healthy Eating

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 Spanish and English, “The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective” takes kids ages 9 to 10 through activities that encourage smart food choices. Created by health provider Kaiser Permanente, the game involves players in various tasks, such as measuring the sugar found in soda drinks.

The Kaiser project targets the disturbing rate of child obesity in the U.S., which has tripled over the last 15 years. According to Kaiser spokesperson Ray Baxter, “Food Detective” goes beyond the health messages kids 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 University of Michigan study. Contracts with soft drink companies give American students easy access to sugary beverages and poor neighborhoods especially are awash in fast food restaurants, the study showed.

To support “The Food Detective” game, Scholastic will create educational materials along with CDs of the game to distribute to more than 5,000 public schools nationwide.