 Doctors
face a tough battle coaxing overweight youngsters to
get active. That's why Dr Susan Natsheh, head of the
Saint John Regional Paediatric Obesity Clinic in New
Brunswick, decided it's time for a revolution —
a Dance, Dance Revolution, that is.
Dr Natsheh is using the popular
dance video game (often shortened to DDR) in her pilot
project, "Dance Revolution — Health Revolution"
which is getting underway this fall. It's aimed at kids
at the clinic who've been resistant to other interventions.
If the project is a success, Dr
Narsheh hopes DDR could eventually become a regular
part of the clinic's toolkit.
OLD
GAME, NEW TRICKS
DDR has been around in several iterations since it was
released in Japan in the late 90s, garnering huge popularity
in video arcades. The game requires players to "dance"
on a large footpad, which resembles a Twister game board,
following the steps directed by rapid on-screen floating
arrows. This all happens in time to popular music by
the likes of Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé synched-up
with the gameplay.
A home version for Playstation
was introduced a few years ago. As part of her project,
Dr Natsheh got funding to buy a dozen Playstations and
copies of the game, which are loaned out to enrolled
kids. All kids need is a TV set.
SELF
ESTEEM
Dr Natsheh's clinic has an overall success rate of over
60% for weight maintenance or loss from time of admission.
But some kids just couldn't seem to adopt the healthy
lifestyles needed to shed their excess pounds.
"Self esteem is a large factor
for many," explains the doctor. "Lots of these kids
aren't getting picked for sports teams, and they might
be embarrassed by their appearance during physical activities.
That's what's attractive about the DDR program —
this system doesn't give negative reinforcement." With
DDR, the kids can play — and get fit — on
their own, in the comfort and privacy of their homes.
As well, because of the independent
nature of the game, the project will target some of
the older kids at the clinic. No parental assistance
or car rides are necessary.
Dr Natsheh stresses that it's still
important to involve parents of even the older kids
in managing lifestyle issues. "Our general goal is to
get the family involved. Otherwise it can be a tremendous
burden for one child." Parents can pitch in by setting
a good example and buying healthier groceries.
"We might even see parents with
fears about their kids working up a sweat, or raising
their heart rate. So we try to teach the parents to
help their kids get active, and we let them see their
children with an elevated heart rate, and see that there's
no need to worry about it."
DIGITAL
LURE
"The kids say that the game is fun," says Dr Natsheh.
"These kids' peer groups tend to be sedentary. A lot
of them are already into video games, but ones which
typically reinforce physical inactivity." Dance Revolution
— Health Revolution just may capitalize on the
habit-forming properties of video games. "Hopefully
they'll get hooked," says Dr Natsheh.
Dr Natsheh hopes the program will
prove successful enough that she can adopt it as part
of the larger BLAST (Balanced Lifestyles and ActivitieS
Teaching) program at the clinic. She's collecting data
and plans to publish it down the road.
Past studies of DDR's health benefits
have turned up mixed results. A 2006 Pediatrics
study out of the Mayo Clinic found, not surprisingly,
that DDR more than doubled kids' energy expenditure
when compared to conventional video games. A January
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
study in very obese youngsters found that compliance
with a DDR regimen was extremely poor, the kids got
bored after just a few weeks and they didn't lose weight.
Dr Natsheh says that keeping track
of compliance will be a key part of assessing the project,
but adds that weight loss isn't her only aim —
she's keen to have her kids adopt more active lifestyles
and improve their self esteem.
West Virginia school officials
found the game promising enough; all of its 157 middle
schools received DDR games last year, in the hopes that
the state's notoriously hefty waistlines could be trimmed.
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