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A
SOLUTION "FIT" FOR INTERNET GENERATIONS
Screen time can have a positive
influence in children’s everyday
lives
Chances are, you’ve heard a thing
or two about the childhood obesity epidemic
that’s plaguing today’s
youth. Countless publications report
that kids and teens are spending excessive
amounts of time with computers and televisions,
which is causing inactivity levels to
rise and bring further health implications,
both now and later in life. Many reports
go on to say that the solution to this
problem lies in reversing the technological
trend, and finding our way back to the
good old days when kids played outside
from sun-up until sun-down.
But is going back in time really
a logical solution? Technology is here
to stay. So instead of fighting this
trend, why don’t we find a way
to use it to our advantage in the fight
against childhood obesity?
The average American child, aged 2-17,
watches 25 hours of TV per week, spends
one hour of their day playing video
or computer games and an additional
36 minutes every day on the Internet,
according to George Comstock and Erica
Scharrer’s 2007 publication of
Media
and the American Child. Realizing
that computers and related gizmos are
large parts of everyday life, it only
makes sense that we find a way to tap
into this virtual world and use it in
a way that is positive and influential
for children and their healthy habits.
Yes – obesity rates were lower
when children spent countless hours
outside, but how long will we dwell
on the fact that they love this tech-world?
Maybe the answer lies in meeting children
where they want to be, and engaging
them in a virtual play place …
And what better way to reach the masses,
than on the World Wide Web?
Take the State of Indiana for example.
The Indiana State Department of Health
and INShape Indiana have partnered with
children’s Web site www.GoTrybe.com
to provide school-aged children with
an online source for fitness and wellness
information. Funding the program for
kids and teens across the state, government
officials have shown that they embrace
the changing of times and are willing
to adapt to reach their young residents.
Indiana State Health Commissioner Judy
Monroe, M.D. said that, "Public
health must keep up with the latest
communications technology, and continually
try to talk with young people about
health in ways they find interesting
and engaging. GoTrybeIN.com
provides our state with a great opportunity
to try out a technology-based initiative
and gauge its effectiveness in communicating
with young people and teachers across
the state.”
Promoting the use of the GoTrybe program
in Indiana homes, kids and teens can
use the bank of ever-growing, ever-changing
digital fitness videos as a way to replace
some of their daily sedentary screen
time with something GoTrybe calls Active
Screen Time™. The fitness
content is led by certified trainers,
and the nutrition and wellness information
is provided by a registered dietitian.
Workouts include hip hop dance, kickboxing,
pilates, sports drills and countless
other variations of physical activity.
Related nutrition, motivation and wellness
content changes on a daily basis, providing
a new experience for children every
day they visit the site. Plus the program
awards points for completing activities,
and rewards children with online activities
after getting active. And since the
program is available via the Internet,
every child in the nation has the ability
to get off the couch and engage in GoTrybe’s
unique virtual play place.
A study conducted by the Department
of Family Medicine in Rochester, New
York, showed that energy expenditure
more than doubles when sedentary screen
time is converted into physical activity.
Therefore by promoting activity and
using modern technology and games as
the medium, children can increase their
energy expenditure while in front of
a screen. The study continues to say
that such interventions might be considered
for obesity prevention and treatment.
GoTrybe’s potential to be an
effective online intervention doesn’t
stop in the home, either. Tennessee
Health Commissioner Susan Cooper
saw the health potential in GoTrybe’s
technology as well, when she launched
the program for 35 high schools in 17
Northeast Tennessee school districts
as a means to meeting the 90-minute
physical activity mandate as set by
the State of Tennessee.
“Providing innovative and creative
approaches to achieve improved health
and wellness is key to seeing positive
progress in the health outcomes of
our youth in the state,” said
Cooper. “Go-TrybeTN
meets teens where they are, and makes
incorporating physical activity and
good nutri-tional choices into their
daily lives easier than ever.”
In recent years, Tennessee has found
itself ranked among the worst states
in terms of childhood obesity numbers.
Because of the startling problem in
this state, and across the nation, the
government has started to play a major
role in getting youth active. States
like Tennessee have mandated physical
activity minutes for students during
school hours. They’ve even put
specialists, called Coordinated
School Health, into each Tennessee
school district to help implement programs
to meet their mandate.
And the beauty of online programs,
such as GoTrybe.com,
is that memberships provide access for
both school and home use, plus anywhere
there’s Internet.
The United States Surgeon General’s
call to action to prevent and decrease
overweight and obesity says that our
society has become very sedentary, and
that television, computer, and video
games contribute to children's inactive
lifestyles. No doubt, it’s time
for a change. But top-notch, expert
information is available for children
and parents, right here at their fingertips.
So instead of demanding its removal,
let’s encourage parents to make
informed choices about the media their
family consumes.
Maybe it’s time to stop blaming
technology and time to start letting
these modern widgets make a positive
change in the lives of today’s
Internet generations.
(pelinks4u was given permission
to publish this article by Anna Marie
from anna@gotrybe.com)
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